Science Assassin
by Phasmidfan
Summary: OLD The Doctor and Donna join a group of international scientists expecting a holiday, but someone out there is determined to destroy the scientists, and the Doctor, one by one. Please R & R.
1. Chapter 1

**_Disclaimer: I do not own Doctor Who. This story is based on the Doctor Who characters and universe._**

**Science Assassin: Chapter one**

Wanda Great stared at her sharp reflection in the perfectly polished mirror. She straightened one of the many black braids dangling from her head, and smoothed her well-brushed red suit. She glanced at her watch. Only 7 minutes and 25 seconds until the guests started arriving, _if they were on time_. Wanda took one last look at herself, making sure everything was in place, and then walked to the front doors of the hotel, her tall black stilettos treading lightly on the plush red carpet. Outside it was raining. She would need an umbrella.

Wanda shook open her black umbrella and stepped outside into the wind and rain. She was careful not to let a single drop of water touch her precious suit or dark skin. For the 100th time she checked the metal clipboard in her hands. 10 guests were due to arrive. How long now? Only 5 minutes and 13 seconds. She wondered if they would be on time. Of course, her watch was timed to the _exact_ second. She stood up straight, looking out onto the road where bubble cars flew past, about 50cm off the ground. In the distance she could see a slightly bigger black shape moving quickly along the road. There was the taxi.

Wanda sighed with relief, looking at her watch again. They would be almost precisely on time. A few seconds late, but she had allowed room for lateness in her busy schedule. Nothing would be upset. She watched the black taxi fly up to the front door. The car doors slid open automatically, and ten important looking men stepped out, wearing pressed suits and carrying umbrellas. They ranged in age from about 25 to late 50s. Wanda took a deep breath and stepped forward, beginning her well-rehearsed greeting.

"Greetings gentlemen!" Wanda smiled cheerfully. "Welcome to the hotel Noble! I am Wanda Great and I will be your tour guide, informer and supervisor." She liked the word _supervisor_. It sounded important. "Now, if you will please line up, I will mark off your names one by one."

The men looked at each other in surprise, and then obediently stood in a straight line. Wanda smiled. She was enjoying this. She began asking the men their names and ticked them off on her list, as well as handing out check-in cards and gift vouchers. Everything was going to plan so far.

Suddenly, there was a loud whirring noise. Wanda looked up in surprise. This _wasn't_ part of her schedule. Suddenly a dark blue police box materialised in front of her, a light flashing on top. Wanda stared at it in surprise, her mouth hanging open for a split second before she quickly composed herself. She must remain calm and cool.

The doors to the police box swung open, and a skinny, brown haired man stepped out, grinning broadly. He was followed by a brown-haired, middle aged woman.

"Where are we this time?" asked the woman, looking around her. "Oh, my, gosh! Flying cars? I don't believe it!"

The man grinned even more. "I don't know exactly where we are. I put the TARDIS on a random setting, but my guess is it's about 50 years after your time."

"Wow!" The woman called Donna looked around in amazement. Wanda didn't understand what she was so fascinated about. Who were these people? What were they doing? She stepped forward.

"Good morning," she began. She looked behind her. The guests were chatting and exchanging vouchers, oblivious to the two strangers. That was a relief. Wanda turned back to the newcomers. "May I help you?"

"Um, yes." The man put on a serious face. "We're travellers, new to this place. Could you tell us where we are?"

_Strange_, thought Wanda. "You are in the middle of London, England," she announced proudly. "May I ask what you are doing? Are you part of the International science committee?" She gestured to the group of men, who were making their way to the hotel foyer.

"Science committee," mused the man. "Sounds interesting. What do you think, Donna?"

"I dunno, you're the science geek," responded the woman named Donna.

_Science geek? Strange language_. Wanda ignored their strange comments. "Are you from earth or mars?" She may as well do the full interview if they were going to join the group.

"Mars?" Donna burst out laughing. "That's ridiculous! No one comes from Mars."

Wanda ignored her and turned to the man, who seemed more controlled. "Well?"

"Um..." the man hummed stupidly. "Let me see. Humans come from the earth, but you share your planet with..."

"Motroids." Answered Wanda coldly. "From Mars. Are you or are you not a motroid?"

"Motroid what?" Donna began laughing again.

"I take it you're not." Wanda took a clean piece of paper on her clipboard and wrote down some notes. "Age?"

"About 900." Replied the man.

Wanda sighed. Now they were playing stupid. "Real age please?"

"That is my real age," replied the man.

Wanda decided to skip that question. "Name? Full name please. _Real_ name please."

"I'm the Doctor, and this is Donna Noble."

"Noble? You have the same name as the person who founded this hotel, the hotel Noble." Wanda carefully wrote down Donna's name.

"I guess it's a common name." Donna shrugged her shoulders.

"Now, Doctor...Doctor who?" asked Wanda.

"Just the Doctor," replied the Doctor. Now, could we please have two check-in cards?"

Wanda looked up sharply. "So, you _are_ part of the science committee? A student perhaps? Is one of the scientists your tutor? You didn't book in advance like everyone else."

"Um, I forgot," said the Doctor. "But I'm here now!" He held out his hand for a check-in card but Wanda ignored him.

"Is this your...personal ship?" Her eyes moved over the TARDIS.

"Yep," the Doctor grinned proudly. "That's the TARDIS. Takes me anywhere in time and space."

"I see." _This man must have something wrong with him. _Wanda tucked her clipboard under her arm. "You'll have to park it in the hotel's temporary parking spaces. They're around the corner. And since you didn't book ahead, there is no spot reserved for you. You shall have to pay the full fee of 100 units an hour."

She couldn't help but smile at the Doctor's goggled eyes. He groaned. "But, isn't there a porter or someone? Or even valet parking?"

Wanda shook her head.

The Doctor sighed. "Fine! I'll go move it. Donna, check us in will you? I'll catch up later." He strode into his TARDIS, muttering angrily to himself. The whirring noise filled the air again and the TARDIS quickly disappeared.

Wanda turned to Donna. "So, which scientist is your tutor or mentor?"

"Ummm, Donna glanced at the clipboard and spoke the first name she saw. "Mr...Lewis Klyne."

Wanda checked her clipboard. "He seems to be in room 59, next to laboratory 150. There are no spare rooms so I'll have to put you on the next floor up. Your friend can be the next level up."

"Thanks," said Donna.

Wanda turned around. "Come on, we'll have to check you in." She waved to a pale faced porter lounging by the doors to the hotel. "You, please take this woman's luggage." She turned back to Donna. "Where did you leave your luggage?"

"Um...it's in the TARDIS." Donna tried to think up a quick excuse. "The Doctor will bring it when he comes back."

"Very well." Wanda went through the doors of the hotel Noble and they automatically swung shut behind her, leaving a stunned Donna standing in the cold rain.

**_More to come..._**

**_Please review!!_**


	2. Chapter 2

**_Disclaimer: I do not own Doctor Who. This story is based on the Doctor Who characters and universe._**

**Science Assassin: Chapter two**

Donna looked around the hotel room which had been assigned to her. It was large and spacious, with a large double bed against one wall, covered with a metallic silver bedspread. Averting her eyes from the shining cover, Donna sat down on the bed. A door led off to a fancy ensuite, complete with bath, shower and spa. There was nothing else in the room except an empty walk in wardrobe and a small chest of drawers next to the bed with a lamp and electric alarm clock on top. Donna thought it looked rather bare.

There was an impatient knock at the door. "Come in!" Donna called.

The door swung open and the Doctor stormed in, his face red and angry.

"What's wrong?" Donna had learned to sense when the Doctor was in a temper.

The Doctor was fuming. "I'll tell you what's wrong! That poky little car park was completely full! COMPLETELY full! The parking attendant wasn't helpful at all. Told me the nearest parking space was streets away. I tried parking down a side lane, and then a parking inspector came and issued me a ticket. ME! A TICKET!" He threw a crumpled piece of paper at Donna and stormed around the room, gabbling on. "So, I had to go streets away to some public car park and then walk all the way back here!"

Donna sighed. She sat in silence for a moment while the Doctor muttered angrily in a corner, and then spoke up. "Finished?"

The Doctor turned to her. "Yes. Sorry 'bout that. Just have to vent your anger sometimes. These days Londoners are so fussy about things. Where's that tour guide woman whatever-her-name-is?"

"Don't know." Donna lay back on the bed. "I think I heard someone call her Wanda. How's your room?"

"OK, average, I expected better from a place like this." The Doctor looked around. "Quite big here compared to my room, poky little thing. I guess I didn't make a very good impression. How did you persuade them to let us stay?"

"Pretended that someone called Mr Lewis Klyne was my mentor. He's part of that science committee thing. What is it, anyway?"

"Every year the top 10 scientists in the world are chosen to be part of this committee thing, dedicated to making the world a better place or something like that. To get chosen, they have to have done some magnificent science thing, like a hugely successful invention or something."

"I see." Donna closed her eyes. "And what was all that about Mars?"

"Ah, that!" The Doctor looked up, interested. "About 30 years ago, humans discovered an alien race living deep _inside_ the planet Mars. They're called motroids, and look exactly like humans, except they have extremely pale faces. Many moved to earth and learned how to speak and act like humans. It was like a giant treaty. Motroids get to live here, and humans get the opportunity to study Mars at close detail. It's been going for years."

Suddenly, a shrill sound rang through the air. "I think that's the dinner bell," explained the Doctor. "Come on!"

Donna stood up and followed him out into a long, winding corridor. The Doctor led her down two flights of stairs and into a large dining room. There was a long table covered in a clean white cloth and set with glistening silver cutlery and plates. Waiters in tuxedos were waiting to show them to their places.

"Good evening sir." One of the waiters led the Doctor down to a seat at the end of the table. To her annoyance, Donna was told to sit at the opposite end, far away from the Doctor. As she huffily sat down and folded her napkin over her lap, the Doctor grinned and gave her a thumbs up. One of the waiters offered her wine, which she politely refused. She asked for a soft drink instead, and was brought a can of lemonade labelled 'Bubblies'. By this time, members of the science committee were filing into the room, dressed in clean suits. A middle aged man of about 40 was seated next to Donna, and a younger man just over 25 was placed on her other side.

When everyone was seated, the waiters began bringing in silver trays with shining aluminium packets. Using tongs, the waiters placed a packet on each person's plate. Donna touched hers and recoiled her finger instantly. It was extremely hot! The young man next to her smiled, and offered to open it for her. Donna thankfully watched while he expertly used his knife and fork to open it, revealing a type of brown gravy in which dark lumps were sitting.

Donna looked around uncertainly. Next to her, the 40 year old was tucking into his own serving of pulp. Donna looked down at the mess on her plate, and felt slightly queasy. She turned to the young man sitting next to her.

"Excuse me sir, what is this?"

The man laughed. "Haven't you had this before? It's my own invention, which many hotels and restaurants have adopted because of its easiness to prepare. It's an essential balance of the necessary nutrients and vitamins blended together. It comes in many different flavours, all of which are perfectly healthy and chemical free. You can't get more organic than this." He popped a piece of his own food into his mouth.

"What's it made of?" Donna picked up one of the lumps and sniffed it suspiciously.

"It's basically made of...healthy stuff," explained the man. "Microscopic particles of all the necessary things, such as minerals, iron, calcium. There's also a secret substance invented by me mixed in." He pointed to the aluminium packets. "The food comes in these bags, which are very small but get larger when heated. When the particles are warmed, the substance makes them expand into larger portions. There are breakfast, lunch, tea, dinner, dessert, supper and snack packets available on the market, all designed by me. When added up, correct portions give you the necessary dietary requirements for one day, making everyone perfectly healthy!"

"I see." Donna tentatively took a small bite. The lump on her fork was soft and squishy, and tasted of warm beef. To her surprise, she liked the flavour, although she wasn't mad on the soft texture. "Very clever," she commented.

"Thank you." The scientist looked pleased. "I first got the idea when I was 10, and have spent 16 years working on it. Finally, my work has paid off and I was chosen for the international science committee."

Donna bravely took another bite, fighting the urge to spit out the mushy texture. She glanced at the Doctor, who was chatting to an older man. His own plate was empty. To Donna's relief, waiters were beginning to collect empty plates and packets. When the proud young scientist wasn't looking, she quickly scrunched up her nearly full packet and handed it to a waiter. Then she turned to the other man next to her.

"Good evening. What did you invent?"

The man looked up at her. His eyes seemed glassy, and there were beads of sweat on his brow. He mumbled something.

"I'm sorry, I didn't catch that. What did you say?" Donna leaned forward.

"I..." the man collapsed onto the table. In an instant the Doctor was next to him, feeling his pulse. He called to Wanda, who was sitting at her own individual table nearby. "Quick! Get a doctor!"

Wanda ran off. The Doctor turned to Donna, his face grim. "He's been poisoned."

**_More to come..._**

**_Please review!!_**


	3. Chapter 3

**_Disclaimer: I do not own Doctor Who. This story is based on the Doctor Who characters and universe._**

**Science Assassin: Chapter three**

Wanda directed the floating ambulance out of the hotel gates, which automatically shut behind it. The ambulance flew off with its loud, wailing, old fashioned siren. Security guards were patrolling the area and guarding all entrances and exits. The place was under maximum security.

Wanda pulled out her compact and studied her face. Her lipstick was slightly smudged, but apart from that she decided that she looked relatively composed. That was good. Control was always important, but all her plans had been ruined. One of her guests had actually been _poisoned_. Now that was unusual. Wanda was not usually a curious person. Usually she only liked being given exact facts, but now she could feel the curiosity inside her. Those two strangers. Donna and the one who called himself the Doctor. What were they up to? Had they had anything to do with the poisoning? Wanda slowly walked back to the hotel, trying to gather her thoughts. She was determined to find out more about this _Doctor_ and this _Donna_.

Back in the dining room, the nine remaining scientists were discussing the poisoning case excitedly. Donna had managed to get the Doctor's attention. He was frowning.

"There's something fishy going on," he said, studying the scientists.

"Who do you think did it?" asked Donna.

"No idea." The Doctor put on his reading glasses and sidled over to the poisoned scientist's place at the table. He sat down. "But I know one thing. We are the top suspects."

"What?!" Donna stifled a gasp. "But we only just arrived."

"Exactly." The Doctor picked up the man's half empty wine glass and sniffed it tentatively. "These men have been working for the committee for two weeks already, and nothing has gone wrong. Then along we come and BOOM! Someone gets poisoned. Also, we are meant to be working for Mr Lewis Klyne, and Mr Lewis Klyne gets poisoned the night we arrive."

"_That_ was Lewis Klyne?" asked Donna in amazement. She sat down, stunned. Although she had been travelling with the Doctor for a long time, she sometimes got tired of the non-stop adventures that seemed to follow him everywhere. She had been hoping for a nice, quiet holiday, with flying cars and a nice hotel, but had ended up as a top suspect in an attempted murder.

The Doctor pulled out a thin, metal instrument, his sonic screwdriver. Pushing down a button, he shone a blue electric light on the wine. "Nothing in here," he concluded.

"Are you sure?" asked Donna suspiciously.

To prove his point, the Doctor lifted the glass and took a sip. "Nothing wrong with it. The poison must have been in his main meal. Apparently he hadn't eaten anything since an early lunch, which was a buffet with the other scientists. They're fine, so there wasn't anything in that."

"How are we going to get to his meal to test it?" queried Donna. "The waiters took all the plates away."

"We'll have to find the kitchen." The Doctor stood up and went out of the dining room, Donna following. After looking around, the Doctor discovered two large, double doors leading to the hotel kitchen, which was deserted. It was small and bare, with nothing but a big cupboard and a few extremely large ovens.

Donna went and opened the cupboard. It was full of tiny aluminium packets, each one no bigger than her thumb nail. They were labelled: _Blueberry and caramel dessert, beef stew, oat and rice, _etc. Donna shuddered at the thought of eating such soft pulp for every meal every day. She quickly closed the cupboard door. The Doctor was gone, but Donna noticed a small door leading outside. She went through it, glad that it had stopped raining, and found the Doctor rummaging through a large waste bin.

"What are you doing?" she asked in disgust.

"Looking for tonight's leftovers," came the reply.

"You look like a stray cat looking for his dinner," teased Donna. "There's NO WAY I'm sticking my hand in that bin."

The Doctor pulled out a plastic garbage bag. Ripping it open, he showed Donna crumpled aluminium bags and brown mess. "I think this was what we had tonight. Come and help me take each individual one out."

Wrinkling up her nose, Donna stuck her hands in the bag and helped to untangle the foil, laying each packet on the ground in a straight line. The Doctor opened one particularly full one. "Someone here didn't like their dinner," he said, pointing to the large quantity of food left. Donna smiled sheepishly. "That's mine. I found it a touch... modern."

The Doctor nodded understandingly. "Brilliant idea but not much choice in textures. Right, now we have 12 packets. Where's the last one?"

"The last one?" echoed Donna, puzzled. "But there were ten scientists and two of us so there should only be twelve."

"No," corrected the Doctor. "There should be thirteen. Remember, Wanda was eating in the same room, at her own table. She would have had a packet too, making thirteen serves altogether. Someone has taken one of the packets away."

"To remove evidence of poisoning?"

"Yes." The Doctor began throwing the packets back into the bag.

"What are you doing?" cried Donna. "Don't you have to analyse them?"

"There's no use now." The Doctor replaced the bag in the large metal bin and closed its lid. "All traces of poison are gone now, in that one packet of food, eaten by Mr Lewis Klyne."

Suddenly there were footsteps behind them. Donna swung round, and there was Wanda, with a funny, pasty look on her face. She was pointing a small gun at them. "Hands up," she commanded, in a strong, commanding voice.

The Doctor slowly lifted his hands, and Donna followed suit. "What are you doing?" she asked. "Have you gone mad?"

Wanda shook her head. "I think you have some explaining to do to the police. I, myself, will be able to sign a witness document stating that I saw you rummaging through the bins. Would you kindly tell me what you were looking for?"

"The poisoned food," answered the Doctor.

Wanda laughed. "The guilty one confesses. I knew what you were doing all along. You wanted to find the food and hide it so that no evidence of poison would be found."

"I didn't mean..." The Doctor started lowering his hands but lifted them up again as the gun was pointed straight at his chest.

"No playing around." Wanda pointed towards the hotel. "This way please."

With no choice, Donna and the Doctor were forced to walk, hands up, to the entrance of the hotel.

**_More to come..._**

**_Please review!!_**


	4. Chapter 4

**_Disclaimer: I do not own Doctor Who. This story is based on the Doctor Who characters and universe._**

**Science assassin: Chapter four**

When the Doctor and Donna reached the hotel entrance, they found it full of uniformed police, all facing them with guns.

"Well done miss," one of the officers said, looking at Wanda.

"My pleasure." Wanda pocketed her gun and smiled. "I found them rummaging around the bins, looking for the poisoned food so they could remove all traces of it."

"That's not true!" exclaimed the Doctor. "We wanted to analyse the poisoned food, but it was already gone from the bin."

"Also," continued Wanda, ignoring the Doctor. She was doing quite a bit of ignoring these days, and was enjoying it immensely. "They claim to be working for the victim, but after private questioning I discovered that he has not tutored or mentored anyone for the past 3 years. They were lying!"

"Well, well, well." The police officer in charge turned to the Doctor and Donna. "Who are you really? Thieves in disguise? Bandits waiting to rob a poor scientist of his plans and inventions?"

"Chief Inspector Smith and assistant Donna Noble, employed by the detective agency of Scotland to investigate a rumour of possible murder around the international science committee." The Doctor whipped out his psychic paper, winking at Donna. She sighed in relief, knowing that the paper showed anything the Doctor wanted.

The police officer was staring in surprise, his mouth hanging open. The Doctor turned, grinning, to show the paper to Wanda. Her dark skin had turned a deathly pale, and she stared at it, wide eyed. For the first time in her life she was unable to keep her composure. "I...I..." Her voice was shaking, and she stepped back. Suddenly, something seemed to snap inside her, and she stood up straight. "Excuse me." Her voice was back to its normal coolness. "I must go now." Swinging round, she walked off briskly, leaving a victorious Doctor behind her.

"Sir!" The police officers stood up straight. "Anything we can do sir?"

"No thanks," said the Doctor in a victorious voice. "I am sure I have everything under control now, with her," he added, pointed to the retreating Wanda. "But there is one thing I need. Can you get me the results of Mr Lewis Klyne and his current status?"

"Yes sir!" The officer saluted and walked off, his troop following, holding their guns straight over their shoulders.

"Well, that went well," said the Doctor, pleased.

"Thank goodness you have that psychic paper," replied Donna.

"I know, good stuff it is." The Doctor pocketed his paper. "Come on! Let's do some interviewing."

He and Donna made their way back to the dining room, where the scientists were still chatting and sampling after-dinner mints.

"Sometimes scientists can be the stupidest people in the world," commented the Doctor. "There has just been a case of poisoning and yet they unsuspiciously eat after-dinner mints."

He walked over to an elderly man who was talking with the young scientist who had spoken to Donna at dinner. "Good evening gentlemen," The Doctor said, sitting down.

"Oh, good evening." The elderly one held out his hand. "Sir Robert Grodger at your service."

"Pleased to meet you, Sir Robert. I'm the Doctor." The Doctor shook hands politely. "And you are?" He turned to the younger man.

"Arthur Dales." He also shook hands.

"I was just wondering how you two were chosen for the committee. It must have been a great honour." The Doctor took out a notebook and brandished a pencil in the air, as if to take notes.

Arthur Dales eagerly plunged into his story, explaining every detail of his food invention. The Doctor popped on his glasses and scribbled notes. "I see, I see. Thank you very much. And you, Sir Robert. What, er, great scientific discovery did you make?"

"I," said Sir Robert, "discovered the motroids."

The Doctor raised his eyebrows in interest. "Very interesting, very interesting indeed." In his effort to appear a Scottish detective, he lapsed into a bit of an exaggerated accent, rolling the words around in his mouth. "And when did you first discover these aliens on Mars?"

"Before I continue, I must ask what your accent is. Is it Indian?" The old scientist looked quite confused.

The Doctor quickly switched back to his normal voice. "Er, no. It's Scottish. Anyway, as I was saying, when did you first discover these aliens?"

"Let me see..." the scientist frowned thoughtfully. "Many, many years ago. I was part of a team of scientists chosen to visit Mars for the first time, and was honoured to be allowed to walk on the surface. We didn't expect to find life, we only wanted to study the earth and collect rock samples. But there, I discovered a tunnel, and following it, came upon the motroids. I spent the next 10 years studying them and teaching them to talk, because they only communicated through noises. Eventually, when we could communicate fluently, humans invited them to earth, in return for study on Mars and access to the special dust there, which is very useful in medicines."

"Thank you." The Doctor put away his notebook and stood up. "Now, do any of you have any idea who could have poisoned Lewis Klyne?"

The answer was no, so the Doctor politely retreated. He met up with Donna, who had quickly spoken to the other 7 scientists. "Discovered anything?" he asked.

"Well, let's see. Mr Mckenzie made eye drops to fix eyes which need glasses, Stan Apricot discovered that highly concentrated apricot juice mixed with something can fix broken bones, Hue Hew discovered a new element, Mr Long invented the bubble cars, Gus Roland made microscopic hearing aids, Fred Colle assisted in the motroid projects, and Mr Prumble made a start on teleportation devices."

"I meant, did you discover anything about the poisoner?" asked the Doctor.

"Oh." Donna thought back to her quick conversations. "No."

"That was all I needed to know." The Doctor picked up a telephone. "And now I would like to know more about the poison."

He dialled a number and was soon talking to the same police officer who had wanted to arrest them earlier. After a long discussion, the Doctor hung up and turned to Donna.

"Very simple. Rat poison was slipped into the man's meal. He's quite ill, but is expected to eventually recover completely. It's quite ironic really, since Louis Klyne was famous for making a poison which killed rats if they smelt it."

"Is that what he was chosen for?" asked Donna.

"No, he also helped out on the motroid projects. Anyway, getting quite late now. How about some rest and more problem solving tomorrow?"

Donna yawned, and suddenly realised how tired she was. She was also quite hungry.

"I _am_ tired," she said, "But I'm starving. I didn't exactly have the heartiest meal. Is there any poison free, non squishy food available?"

The Doctor grinned, and handed her a few silver notes, each reading 100 units. "Go and buy something from a store. I'm going to the TARDIS to pick up some equipment. See you tomorrow."

Donna took the money and made her way along the streets, looking for a store, while the Doctor made his way back to the TARDIS. At that same moment, the poisoner sat in a small room in the hotel Noble, carefully plotting their next move: TO REMOVE THE DOCTOR.

**_More to come..._**

**_Please review!!_**


	5. Chapter 5

**_Disclaimer: I do not own Doctor Who. This story is based on the Doctor Who characters and universe._**

**Science Assassin: Chapter five**

The next day dawned clear and sunny, a complete opposite to the previous evening. Wanda again checked herself in the mirror. She was dressed in a dark green felt suit, and her hair was still secured in many tight braids. She peeped into the dining room, where the group was eating breakfast, and then hurried to the reception desk to find her clip board and go over her plans for the day.

In the dining room, the 9 remaining members of the science committee were enjoying a hearty breakfast in aluminium packets. This time each person was served two packets, one with a white, creamy, oat porridge pulp and one with bacon and toast flavoured mush. Donna had left hers unopened, and was munching on a packet of chips. The night before she had bought a good supply, which she stored in her room. She was glad that normal food was still available. To her surprise, the Doctor was eating his breakfast with gusto.

"Doctor, aren't you scared of poison?" she hissed quietly, so the other scientists wouldn't hear.

"No, a good assassin never uses the same method twice," explained the Doctor. "And by now I'm certain that Lewis Klyne wasn't the only victim." He popped another spoonful of porridge into his mouth.

"But why were you worried about the mints last night?" Donna was confused.

"Through my experience I have learned that murderers often have back up methods. They might have poisoned the mints in case the first poison didn't work. But they didn't, thankfully. By now though, they will have realised that Klyne is ill and will be thinking up another way to finish him off. But not by using poison." He took a long swig of orange juice.

"Oh." Donna took another bite of chips. "Why do you think someone has been attacking this group?"

"Many reasons." The Doctor shrugged. "I personally think it's because they don't agree with the big project they are starting."

"What's that?"

"The international science committee are working on building a large, outer space planet for the motroids. This is all top secret, so don't tell anyone. The motroids have slowly been taking over earth."

"In what ways?" asked Donna.

"Many ways. Taking over businesses and sacking humans, building cities only for them, using up large amounts of gold and coal. Soon, humans won't have anything left. The motroids now have evolved to earth living, so they can't live on Mars any longer. Their lungs have adapted to oxygen, so they would suffocate on Mars. Their skin is no longer capable of the high Mars temperature, and they can no longer live off the Mars resources. They need food, and water, and medicine. The list goes on and on. Humans can't just ask them to leave. they have very bad tempers, and would start a war! Anyway, there's nowhere else for them to go. That's why they want to build a new planet for them."

"Wait, if this is all top secret, how did you find out?" Donna looked at the Doctor suspiciously. He smiled sheepishly. "With a little help from my psychic paper, I posed as a leading scientist and was accepted to replace Lewis Klyne while he recovers. And of course my clever little brain knows enough to be able to pass their exams. Why did I go to collect equipment last night? Because you need to have done something honourable or extremely scientific to be chosen. I simply showed them some futuristic gadgets, and explained how they worked. They were fascinated. I'm part of the team now."

"What about me?" asked Donna indignantly.

"Don't worry. You're posing as my personal assistant."

"It all sounds rather complicated," commented Donna. "You being a scientist to the committee while the police are under the impression you're a detective."

At that moment, Wanda entered the room, her signature clipboard tucked under her arm. Her eyes passed briefly over the Doctor, but soon turned to the scientists.

"Gentlemen," she said. "I understand that at 11:30 you have a board meeting here in the hotel. Before that we have arranged a small tour to the Big Ben. We will be travelling by bus, so if you could all please assemble outside..." There followed a long list of safety procedures. Donna yawned.

"Thank you." Wanda walked outside and the scientists followed, talking excitedly. The Doctor bent down to tie up his shoe lace, just as there was a just as there was whooshing sound and a small knife flew through the air at top speed, sticking in the wooden panelling on the dining room door. Donna screamed, but the Doctor clamped a hand over her mouth.

"Don't cause alarm. That knife was meant for me. We need to find where it came from."

Donna nodded. The Doctor stood up and looked behind him. There was nothing but the wooden panelling of the back wall. Putting on his glasses, the Doctor scrutinised the wall closely, tapping here and there. Suddenly, there was a groaning sound, and one of the large panels jerked to the side, revealing a dark passageway. The Doctor immediately entered, and Donna started to follow. Suddenly, the panel jerked back into its original position, leaving no trace of a passage. Donna was left on the other side.

"Doctor?" she called in panic.

A smaller square of wood slipped back, revealing the Doctor's grinning face. "Hello Donna. Gave you a bit of a shock, did I?"

"You certainly did." Donna caught her breath. "Did you find him?"

"Find who?" The Doctor opened the panel from the inside and stepped out, closing it behind him.

"The man who threw that knife!" Donna was practically screaming.

"No." The Doctor pulled the knife out of the door, examining it. It had a polished silver blade which glistened sharp in the light. The handle was of smoothly carved mahogany wood. "I didn't expect to find the would-be murderer. They're long gone. The passage leads to the kitchen. I just wanted to know where they hid."

"It's too dangerous here." Donna shivered. "That was a very close call. Who knows what they'll try next."

"Well, that's why I'm here." The Doctor stood up importantly. "I'm going to find that person, as well as find out why they're so determined to get rid of me. Come on; let's go to the Big Ben!"

"What?!" Donna cried out in amazement. "You have just been narrowly missed by a thrown knife and have just discovered a secret passage and you want to visit the _Big Ben_?!"

"Yes." The Doctor grinned. "For three reasons. One: I want to watch Wanda. She seems strange. Two: the assassin is gone. A thorough search would never find them, and I have to stay with the group in case they try anything else. And three: I ALWAYS love a visit to the Big Ben! Come on!"

**_More to come..._**

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	6. Chapter 6

**_Disclaimer: I do not own Doctor Who. T_****_his story is based on the Doctor Who characters and universe._**

**Science Assassin: Chapter six**

"...And so in 1834, the Palace of Westminster was overtaken by fire, and this clock tower was built..." Donna yawned. She was getting sick of Wanda's monotonous voice. She looked up at the Big Ben. It looked almost the same as when she had last seen it in her time, but it was now covered in metal plating to support the old frame. The large clock at the top was still the same though, with its long hands and shining white face.

"Now, shall we go up?" Wanda led the group inside an entrance door and up a long flight of twisting spiral stairs. They were extremely narrow, and made of a light metal. At the top, Donna found herself in a completely modern viewing room. To her right was the back to the clock face, covered in many cogs and wheels, but straight ahead was an opening with a balcony, so that visitors could see the whole of London.

"Wow!" The scientists all ran to the balcony, looking over. Sam Apricot produced a pair of binoculars, and these were passed around to everyone. When it was the Doctor's turn, he peered through them at the Hotel Noble, and then handed them to Donna.

"Look Donna. That's a motroid."

"Where?" Donna eagerly looked through. The Doctor guided the binoculars to the Hotel Nobel. Donna could see the pale faced porter lounging outside the front doors, waiting for visitors. He was extremely thin, and his eyes were a mangy yellow. She turned to the Doctor. "That's a motroid?"

"Yes. They all look similar to that. Pale, thin, and with yellow eyes."

Donna took one last look and then handed the binoculars to Mr Long. "I don't think I'd like to meet on the street. They look hideous!"

The Doctor shrugged. "With make-up and contacts, they can look like any other person. And you're standing less than 10 feet away from one."

Donna turned, and saw another pale faced man sweeping the viewing floor. He had a turning down mouth and bushy eyebrows.

"Do all motroids have eyebrows and mouths like that?" asked Donna.

"No, I think only that one does. Like humans, all motroids have their unique characteristics." The Doctor stifled a laugh, and looked back over London.

Donna stared over at the giant city. Many of the buildings had been covered in bright metal, giving the city a polished look. Suddenly, next to her, Sam Apricot let out a yell as he was shoved violently forwards. Everyone ran to grab him, but too late. He teetered, and then tipped over the balcony, spinning down to the ground below. Donna turned away, she couldn't bear to look as he hit the ground with a loud crack. Bubble cars screeched and skidded around his motionless form.

"Ooh!" cried all the scientists, wincing. They began hurrying down the stairs, hustling and bustling. Wanda seemed to appear from a toilet door.

"What happened?!" she cried.

"Mr Apricot was pushed over the edge," replied the Doctor. He had the binoculars and was looking down at the crumpled man, his arms and legs at odd, unnatural angles. The scientists had now reached him, and Mr Hew bent down to feel his pulse. He looked up at the Doctor and shook his head sadly.

"He's dead." The Doctor put down the binoculars.

"Oh no." Wanda turned pale, and hurried down the stairs, muttering to herself.

"Doctor, the sweeping motroid is gone!" Donna pointed to a broom standing against the wall. The motroid was nowhere to be seen.

"Hmmm." The Doctor frowned thoughtfully. "Did he push Sam Apricot off the balcony and then run away? But why would he leave such noticeable evidence, like a broom?"

At that moment, the motroid returned, carrying a garbage bag, which he placed in an empty bin. He looked around. "Where did everyone go?" he asked in a reedy voice.

"Someone was pushed over the balcony," explained the Doctor, watching the motroid's expression. A surprised look came over his face. _He does seem genuinely surprised,_ thought the Doctor. Then, suddenly, the motroid burst into tears!

"Don't cry." Donna ran forward. "It wasn't your fault." She found herself putting one arm around the motroid's shoulder to comfort him. She could feel his thin body shaking as he sobbed.

"I know! I know! But what a thing to happen!" cried the motroid. "And to think I could have stopped it if I hadn't gone to empty the garbage at that very moment! The person must have waited until I was gone."

"Did you see anyone prowling around?" asked the Doctor.

"No." The motroid sniffed, wiping his nose on his sleeve. "There was only you, this lady, the 9 other importantly dressed men, and that quiet, dark-skinned lady."

"Hmmm, Wanda," said the Doctor thoughtfully. "She claims to have been in the toilet when he was pushed. Was she really? Everyone was looking over the balcony except her. Come on Donna! We have to get down and look for evidence."

After patting the motroid's shoulder comfortingly, Donna followed the Doctor down the stairs. "I don't think he did it Doctor. Did you see how upset he was?"

"I know." The Doctor frowned thoughtfully. "I was thinking about Wanda. It's strange that she was the only one not looking over the balcony, yet she doesn't seem like the sort of person who would do something like that."

"Yes," agreed Donna. "She's more of a perfectionist. Has to be in charge. But the evidence is pointing to her at the moment."

"Don't accuse her just yet," warned the Doctor. "I think we're already in her bad books. And remember, there was no way she could have been hiding in that panelling in the dining room this morning. Seconds before, we personally saw her walk out."

The Doctor and Donna stepped outside, where the scientists and a few onlookers were gathered around the body. An ambulance was there, as well as the police. The body was wrapped in a sheet, and ambulance officers carefully lifted it, and put it in the back of their floating vehicle. A police officer stepped forward, the same as the day before.

"Morning sir. Terrible case here. Can't believe anyone could be so violent sir."

The Doctor suddenly remembered that he was posing as a Scottish detective. "Yes. I've been upstairs, and there isn't any evidence there. The only person is a motroid sweeping, and he was terribly upset about it all."

"Well, I think we've done all we can here. This is a serious case. I'll have to get the forensic detectives down here to have a look at it, after we rope it off. " The officer pocketed a notebook and camera. "See you later sir."

At that moment, a bus flew up and the doors swung open. Wanda stepped inside. "Please everyone. The bus has come to take the committee back to the hotel. You will be given a light morning tea, and then you will be shown to the board room for your meeting."

Following the scientists onboard, Donna sat down on one of the comfortably cushioned seats. She watched Wanda sit in a special place in front. The woman was staring at the Doctor. Was that a stare of guilt? Confusion? Donna wasn't sure. Then she noticed Wanda take a tiny instrument out of her handbag and hold it up. There was a tiny flash. A camera! Why was Wanda taking a photo of the Doctor? Donna was confused. She leaned back against her seat and tried to sort out the many confused thoughts floating around in her mind.

**_More to come..._**

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	7. Chapter 7

**_Disclaimer: I do not own Doctor Who. this story is based on the Doctor Who characters and universe._**

**Science Assassin: Chapter seven**

"Two failed murders, one successful murder," the Doctor mumbled, biting into a cookie.

Donna had been pleased to see that morning tea was served as 'old fashioned' food for a change. Her stomach had rumbled at the sight of fresh biscuits, tea and cold milk, as well as dainty little cream cakes. She was getting tired of chips, and ate enthusiastically.

"And you know what Donna? I think this assassin has a sense of humour."

"You do?" Donna took a fourth cream cake. "I don't see anything funny about pushing someone of a balcony 300 feet high."

"315.9 feet high," corrected the Doctor. "You weren't listening to Wanda's speech. Anyway, I didn't mean that. Think about it. The assassin tried to kill Klyne with rat poison, and he had invented a super strong rat poison before. Now, Sam Apricot is killed when he hits the ground, and all his bones are completely broken. Yesterday, you told me that Sam Apricot was famous for inventing a cure for broken bones."

"Oh!" Donna dropped her cake. "That's disgusting. We never suspected the assassin might work like that. Killing people and teasing them about their inventions at the same time." Suddenly, her appetite seemed to have disappeared.

"I know. Is that just a coincidence? If not, that's very useful to us, because we can guess what their next move will be. Think about how all the others might be killed."

Donna thought about it, and shuddered. "But how come you were attacked with a flying knife? You didn't invent knives."

The Doctor shrugged. "I'm an unknown, so the assassin simply turned to a good old-fashioned method. Whoever it was is good at knife throwing though. The precision with which they tossed that knife! I was lucky my shoe lace was undone. Thank you shoe lace!" He bent down and patted his shoe. Donna sighed.

"Come on Doctor, be serious. What is the assassin going to try next? They could get at anyone. Mr Hue, Sir Robert, anyone. And we have to stop them."

"I know. That is why I brought this!" the Doctor held up a small, metal box with blinking lights. "I picked this up from the TARDIS that first night and have been keeping it in my room, but now I'll have to use it."

"What is it?" asked Donna, turning the device over in her hands. The Doctor began a string of scientific words and explanation. Donna scowled. "Can I have that in English please?"

"Sorry. Basically it tells me if there are any life forms other than humans within 10 feet. This green light shows that there are humans, and exactly how many. If a non-human comes, this little red light will beep."

"Why is it beeping now?"

"Oops! That's me. As a time lord I'm not human. I'll fix that." Pulling out his sonic screwdriver, he adjusted some settings and then worked with the machine. Eventually, the red light switched off. "Now it will pick up any life forms other than humans and time lords."

"What if the assassin's a time lord?"

"Donna." The Doctor frowned. "You know that I'm the last remaining time lord."

Now it was Donna's turn to apologise as she saw the hurt look on the Doctor's face. Then the doors to the dining room swung open and Wanda walked in. "The board room is ready. Please follow me."

Soon, the whole committee was assembled in a small, square room, covered in thick metal which was a few feet thick. Wanda explained that it was completely sound-proof, and that there was no way anyone could see or hear what was being discussed inside. She told the committee that they had 2 hours before lunch, and then left, shutting the heavy door behind her. The Doctor locked and barred it from the inside.

Donna looked around. There was nothing in the room except a table and 9 chairs. Everyone, including the Doctor, sat down, and she was left standing.

"Where do I sit?" she whispered to the Doctor.

"Nowhere. As my assistant, you have to stand and take notes for me. And be grateful. I had the hardest time getting them to agree to let you in here during the meeting."

He handed Donna his notebook and pencil. Scowling, she stood attentively behind his chair. Sir Robert was at the head of the table. He was obviously in charge, being the person who first discovered the motroids.

"Good morning everyone. Thank you for attending this meeting. I just remind you again that everything discussed in this room is top secret and must not be revealed to anyone. To the young lady taking notes, I just remind you that all pieces of information are to be handed to me afterwards and stored in the sealed safe in my room." Donna nodded.

"Now," continued Sir Robert. "I am sure you all know why we are here. We have to discuss the designing and construction of the proposed space planet of the motroids. You all know the story of the motroids, and how they are using far too much on earth, and are dragging humans down into lower ranks. This cannot be allowed to happen. There are rumours that motroids want to send all humans away, keeping earth for themselves. That would be terrible. The agreement was that they could stay here as guests, and we could study Mars and its dusts. Those studies have concluded, because Mr Hew has found a new element, X-rock, which has all the benefits of Martian dust and more! But as you know, the motroids are no longer able to survive Martian conditions, and they continue to slowly take over more and more of our earth. They have already conquered Antarctica, and are preventing all research missions there. They have used up 78 percent of our coal, not only for this year but for the next 10 years as well. America is struggling. Even worse, motroids have taken over the army base in Australia, and are controlling the whole of Tasmania and Victoria, shutting out humans. This is getting too much. All they want is space and power, and we humans must not give up easily to them."

Mr Mckenzie spoke up. "Where do you propose to put this planet?"

Sir Robert had brought in a briefcase, and he pulled out a large plan of the solar system. The Doctor put on his glasses and leaned forward. "Donna, please sketch a brief copy of this map." Sir Robert nodded approvingly. Donna sighed, and stared at the mess of lines, circles and numbers scattered on the page. It looked like gibberish to her. Taking a fresh page, she tried to copy a few of the darker, bolder lines and planets. She was angry at the Doctor. Did he really expect her to copy all of that?

Suddenly, a soft beeping echoed around the room. The Doctor quickly drew out his little machine.

"Is that a bomb? Asked Arthur Dales, the young scientist.

"No," said the Doctor. "It traces life forms other than humans."

The scientists all tried to look at the instrument at once. Donna could see the little red light beeping quickly. The Doctor turned to her. "Donna, it says here that there is one other life form other than us within 10 feet."

He turned it over and flipped open a section of the machine to reveal a small screen and a few buttons. His fingers flew over the buttons, pressing them in different combinations as he read bits of information on the screen.

"What is he doing?" asked Fred Colle.

"No idea," replied Gus Roland.

"Donna!" cried the Doctor in amazement. "There's a motroid nearby!"

Donna shrugged. "So? They could just be walking past outside."

"No, no, no, no! According to this, there's a motroid _inside the walls!_"

**_More to come..._**

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	8. Chapter 8

**_Disclaimer: I do not own Doctor Who. This story is based on the Doctor Who characters and universe._**

**Science Assassin: Chapter eight**

Wanda sat at the reception desk, writing out a witness report for the death of Mr Sam Apricot. Although she hadn't _witnessed_ anything, the police had asked her to write out everything she knew about the death, and the attempted death of Mr Lewis Klyne. She debated whether to mention the 'Doctor' and Donna. She had been surprised the other scientists accepted him in the committee and allowed him to attend their meetings. He was after all only a detective from Scotland.

Wanda's pen hung over the perfectly ruled paper. _Should she or shouldn't she? _The trouble had started when the Doctor and Donna arrived, but was it a coincidence? And the Doctor did seem to try and help when Sam Apricot was killed. Hadn't he interviewed the motroid? Didn't the police trust him? But then there was Donna. Very odd. She refused to eat the nutrition packets at meal times. She seemed to gorge on unhealthy, salt-filled potato crisps. Her clothes were old fashioned, as if from years ago. And what about that space ship? The TARDIS, as the Doctor called it? Wanda had never seen anything like it. Where had it come from? Why did a Scottish detective have such a fancy ship? How did he make it appear and disappear?

The Doctor was always looking at her, like he suspected her. Was he trying to fix the blame on her? Had he waited for the right opportunity at Big Ben to push Sam Apricot over the balcony? Was he trying to hide the fact that he had something to do with the murder?

Wanda was sweating. What should she do? She had never been in a position like this. She had always been so confident, so sure of herself. Now she was stressing about whether or not to accuse these two peculiar people. _Wanda!_ she seemed to say to herself. _Concentrate! You know you should turn them in!_ But another part of her seemed to know they were innocent. That they had nothing to do with the murder. Which side should she choose?

Shaking, she scribbled down her report. For the first time in her life, her writing was not its usual neat cursive. It looked like a messy scrawl. Without reading over what she had written, Wanda sealed it in an envelope, wrote down an address and rang the reception desk bell. The motroid porter came over. Wanda handed him the envelope, her voice slightly shaky as she gave mailing instructions.

Sitting at the desk, she watched the porter run off with the envelope until he was out of sight. There. It was done. Had she made the right choice? Wanda didn't know. It didn't seem right, not knowing. All her life she had known what to do. She had never been faced with such a decision.

Trembling, she stood up and walked to her room. She was already starting to regret what she had written. Wasn't that human nature? To change your mind so suddenly after such a difficult decision? As she walked, a single tear ran down Wanda's face and hit the carpeted floor.

**_More to come..._**

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	9. Chapter 9

**_Disclaimer: I do not own Doctor Who. This story is based on the Doctor Who characters and universe._**

**Science Assassin: Chapter nine**

The atmosphere in the board room was tense and silent. The scientists were staring at the Doctor in disbelief.

"No," said Arthur Dales eventually. "That's impossible. The walls are two and a half feet thick, and made of solid metal. I checked the plans of the hotel. No one can get inside."

The Doctor stared at the screen in front of him. "Sssshhh. I think that motroid can hear everything in this room."

"No!" Sir Robert stood up. "He can't. This room is completely soundproof."

"Oh no!" The Doctor groaned as the red light faded and disappeared. "You've scared him off. He _can_ hear what's going on."

"This is outrageous!" Sir Robert thumped the table in anger. "Our board meeting was supposed to be top secret! And especially secret from the motroids! If that motroid knows what we said, the motroids could start a war against humans! And with their power over certain military bases..."

He sat down, holding his head in his hands. "It's my entire fault! I should never have followed that tunnel on Mars. Think of all the trouble it led to. And the death of one of our colleagues!"

"Now listen," said the Doctor sternly. "It wasn't your fault that Apricot was killed. We don't even know the assassin's motive. But now, you've given me an idea. Let's say the motroids found out about your plans. They would obviously not want to leave earth, and their way of stopping the plans: to kill the people in charge!"

"But how would they find out about our plans before hand?" asked Mr Long. "All our previous meetings have been in top secret locations."

"If I know something about the motroids, it's that they're extremely clever." The Doctor pocketed his machine. "They have very good tracking skills, and have probably followed the committee ever since it was founded. They _know_ the humans are angry with them, and they _know_ you want to get rid of them. Do you really think that all these years they have been oblivious to humans' dislike for them? No. Knowing what the humans think only makes them more determined to take over. And now that motroid has heard you speaking. He has probably confirmed his suspicions, even possibly recorded it, and will go to his leader and report."

"No!" cried Gus Roland.

"Yes!" replied the Doctor sternly. "Now, no matter how clever you scientists are, I think I shall have to be in charge from now on."

"You?!" asked Arthur Dales in disgust. "You?!"

"Yes, me. Any argument about that?"

"How do you know so much?" queried Arthur Dales suspiciously.

The Doctor stood up. "Because I'm clever!"

Sir Robert stood up. "I believe you. You _are_ very clever. Clever enough to deceive us. Clever enough to be a motroid _in disguise_."

"What?!" It was the Doctor's turn to be surprised. "Don't be ridiculous! I'm not a motroid. See! Brown eyes!"

"I have heard of contacts," said Mckenzie. "Being an eye expert."

"I have no contacts!" The Doctor rubbed his eyes. "See! I'm NOT a motroid. You have to believe me!"

"I once heard that motroids sometimes dye their eyes a different colour," spoke up Roland. He stuck a finger in his ear and wiggled it, as if clearing out ear wax. Then he tapped his head, frowning slightly.

"The Doctor didn't dye his eyes!" shouted Donna. "And besides, he isn't sickly pale."

"Motroids could put stuff on their face, to make their skin darker," Prumble spoke for the first time.

"Now listen." The Doctor was beginning to get angry. "I am not a motroid, and I can guarantee, if I don't help you, one by one you are going to get assassinated."

"We can look after ourselves!" shouted Sir Robert. "We don't need you!"

Suddenly Gus Roland grabbed his ear, yelling. The scientists crowded around him. "What is it?" demanded Sir Robert. Roland was rolling around on his chair, clutching his ear. His face was distorted in pain. The Doctor ran to him, and pulled away his hand, peering into his ear.

"His microscopic hearing aid is expanding!" he cried. "Quick, I need vinegar! It's going to explode!"

The scientists ran around in confusion. Flinging open the door, Mckenzie ran out, shouting at the top of his voice. Everything was confusion. Donna turned away. She didn't want to see what happened next. The thought of an ear implant _growing_ and _expanding_ while inside someone's ear sounded too horrible for her to imagine. The Doctor was giving instructions at top speed.

Mckenzie ran inside with a bottle of vinegar, but just as he threw it to the Doctor, Roland gave one last shudder and collapsed to the floor.

"No, no, no, no, no!" The Doctor opened the bottle and poured the vinegar onto the black lump protruding from Roland's ear. But even as the lump began to recede, shrinking smaller and smaller, the Doctor realised the horrible truth. Roland was dead.

The Doctor stood up. "Microscopic ear implants. Great devices, except for one thing. Made with a chemical called positive silicon-E. Now when large amounts of negative atoms approach this chemical, it expands. The atoms grow larger, one by one. Of course, the negative atoms would have to be focused in extreme quantities, with a density of almost solid. Very unlikely to come across these in everyday life. The atoms expand and expand, never stopping. Roland's grew inside, until they attacked his brain and killed him. The only thing capable of stopping this is vinegar, or other acids. Their high acidity level dissolves the negative charge and reverses the growing. In Roland's case, it was just too late." He turned to Sir Robert. "I thought you said you can look after yourselves?"

Sir Robert was staring at the body on the floor. Then he looked at the Doctor. Donna held her breath. Was he going to admit that the Doctor _was_ on their side?

Suddenly, there was a loud clattering of footsteps, and a whole squad of policemen entered the room. They surrounded the Doctor, pointing their guns at him. The officer in charge, the one who had spoken to them only that morning, took a piece of paper out of his pocket.

"We have a warrant here for the arrest of the Doctor," he read aloud. "And also someone by the name of Donna Noble." Half of the policemen turned and pointed their guns at Donna.

"This is all a mistake," said the Doctor. "I just tried to save a dying man."

"Yes, he's just as innocent as I am," defended Donna.

"No." Sir Robert stuck a hand inside his pocket. He brought out a small device almost identical to the Doctor's. There was a red light blinking. "This man is not human. He's not a scientist. He's an alien."

The police officer's mouth shot open. "You? An alien? What was all that about a detective from Scotland?"

The Doctor was staring at Sir Robert's machine. "Where did you get that?" he asked in amazement.

Sir Robert shrugged. "I've been head of the science committee for a long time. I like finding out little things scientists have invented. I saw you taking your machine to your room last night. When you left, I was so intrigued that I went in to have a look at it. I found the device remarkably simple. It simply has a detector for human breath. Any non human breath detected sets off a flashing light. I spent last night making one of my own. Useful thing to have really. Tells you if there are any motroids around. Of course mine didn't have sound, or any of those fancy buttons or screen. I didn't expect to use it so soon."

"I'm a time lord." The Doctor was growling. "Much better than any motroid. So get that out of your mind."

The police officer was staring at them. "What's all this? This has nothing to do with the arrest. Was something stolen?"

"No."

"Then I shall continue. Doctor and Donna, anything you say will be recorded and can be used as evidence against you ."

"Hang on, where did you get this arrest idea from?" the Doctor was puzzled.

"Oh, from some very useful information." The police officer dug into his pocket, and pulled out a crumbled piece of paper. It was Wanda Great's witness report.

**_More to come..._**

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	10. Chapter 10

**_Disclaimer: I do not own Doctor Who. This story is based on the Doctor Who characters and universe._**

**Science Assassin: Chapter ten**

Wanda stood at the hotel gates, watching the police car roar away. The seven remaining scientists were currently at lunch. Although it was her lunch break as well, Wanda didn't feel very hungry. She felt a stab of guilt at accusing the Doctor in her report, but he _had_ seemed suspicious. Now, the law would take care of him.

Wanda wondered back to the board room. To her relief, Roland's body had been taken away. There was nothing on the table, but on the floor she noticed a notebook. Wanda picked it up, curious. She took it to the front desk and sat down. Flipping it open and looking at the inside cover, she saw the name _Doctor_ scrawled in pencil. So this was the Doctor's notebook. _Might provide more evidence for the police._

Having nothing better to do, Wanda flicked through the pages. She had expected to find herself faced with violent killing plans, but instead found herself intrigued as she read notes about different aliens, all she had never heard of. She shivered as read of the ferocity of the daleks, the violence of the cyber men, the merciless slitheen and the shadowy vashtanerada. Some particularly old notes provided details on clockwork robots, walking pigs and oods, which were described as aliens with tentacle-like faces.

Wanda couldn't believe what she was reading. Here was a traveller, someone who had moved all over space, and time! A time traveller! That explained the odd ship. There were recorded notes on events which occurred over 100 years ago! Wanda had once taken a course in History at university, and she knew that all the facts were historically accurate. She was stunned. This man was no murderer. On all his visits he had saved someone, or a planet, or even the whole human race! She sat back, suddenly feeling tired. The events of the past two days were beginning to take their toll. Wanda was exhausted.

Suddenly, she sat up straight. She couldn't just let the police take the Doctor away! She had wrongly accused him, and sent him to jail. She had to stop it. She didn't know how she would do it, but she knew there would be a way. Jumping up, Wanda slipped on her coat and stepped outside. Climbing into her bubble car, she turned on the ignition and flew towards the police station, making plans in her head as she drove.

**_More to come..._**

**_Please review!!_**


	11. Chapter 11

**_Disclaimer: I do not own Doctor Who. This story is based on the Doctor Who characters and universe._**

**_Thank you to everyone who has reviewed so far! Please feel free to review again. I love getting reviews! (even if they're critical I don't mind)_**

**Science Assassin: Chapter eleven**

The seven remaining members of the science committee were seated in the dining room, having lunch. Sir Robert seemed extremely jumpy, jumping at every little noise and turning to look behind him. His hands were shaking, and his veins were bulging with nervousness. He had to keep wiping sweat off his brow.

"Relax Sir Robert," said Arthur Dales. "Now that the Doctor's gone, no one else will get hurt."

"I know, but I can't help feeling as if he isn't guilty, and that the assassin is still out there somewhere." Sir Robert was pale, and his food was untouched, his aluminium packet sitting on his plate unopened.

"But he was a liar and a fake," said Mr Prumble. "He pretended to be a scientist, as well as a detective. And that woman, Donna, she wasn't really an assistant. She had no idea how to even copy a map of the galaxy."

"I know, I know." Sir Robert sighed. "But, everything is so _unordinary._ So many things have been happening. Two deaths in one day."

"There won't be any more." Mr Mckenzie said. "Now that the Doctor is safely behind bars. We won't have any more trouble. And no more lies about motroids listening to our plans."

"Yes, that is a relief." Sir Robert seemed to relax a little. "All that he said about motroids listening, and reporting. It nearly gave me a heart..." he slumped forward, his head hitting his plate with a crash. Mckenzie jumped up. "What happened?"

Fred Colle felt the old man's pulse. "He's had a heart attack! Quick! Call an ambulance! Get Wanda!"

Long and Hew ran out of the room. Colle pulled back Robert's head and began compressing his chest.

"That's not how you do it!" Arthur Dales pushed Colle aside and began thumping Sir Robert hard on the back. "You do _this_ to get his heart going again."

"No you don't!"

"Yes you do!"

The men began pushing and shoving each other, both trying to get to Sir Robert. They both stopped when a weak voice said, "Boys! Stop it! Get me my pills!" Sir Robert's eyes were half open, and his face was very pale. _Almost as pale as a motroid, _thought Arthur Dales.

"Where is it sir?" he asked.

"In...my...room." Sir Robert fell forward again. Dales ran out, and Colle stood there nervously, unsure of what to do. Prumble pushed him forward. "Don't just stand there! Check his pulse!"

Fred Colle felt the older man's wrist. He almost missed the slow, faint beat. "He's still alive!"

Just then, Arthur Dales ran back in. "His medicine...isn't...there," he panted. "There...was a little...medicine box...but no pills...for heart."

"Oh no!" Prumble groaned. "If only the ambulance comes in time."

Arthur Dales thought about something he had overheard the Doctor say. That the assassin killed his victims and mocked them about their inventions as well. Apricot had broken all his bones, and Roland had just been killed by his own invention, the microscopic hearing aid. What about Sir Roland? Had something been given to him to start an attack? Had the assassin then hidden his pills? His face was deathly pale. Was the assassin trying to make him pale like a motroid, the alien race he had discovered?

Dales pulled Sir Roland into a partial recovery position. He checked the pulse again. It was extremely faint, and was slowing, as if the man's heart was getting tired. He wondered how long he could hold on...

XXXXXXXXXXX

The Doctor smiled grimly as he was shoved into a small, damp cell with a leaky roof, after hours of interrogation and interviews. He sat down on the old, hard bench and watched as the guard slammed shut the barred gate. This wasn't the first time he'd been arrested. On many of his previous travels he'd been chained, locked up, even tortured. He'd get out of this, eventually. The only trouble was: his sonic screwdriver had been confiscated. He wouldn't be able to open the lock and get out.

The Doctor sighed and began to sort through his thoughts. He thought about what Wanda had written about him on her witness report. She seemed to have put all the blame on him. She had described him as _a peculiar stranger who turned up out of nowhere, causing havoc and chaos wherever he went,_ and as _someone not to be trusted_. She had also mentioned how he was present at Apricot's death and Klyne's attempted murder, and how she had found him sorting through the leftover scraps. That, and the fact he had lied to the police, had been enough to land him in jail. And not just any jail, a specially designed cell for unknown alien life forms, barricaded with lasers.

The Doctor soon got bored. He stood up and wandered around the small room. His eyes began to ache from the constant beam of red laser in front of the door. He wondered which scientist would be picked on next by the motroids. He was sure now of their involvement in the recent events.

Two hours later, a guard came and shoved in a tray of Arthur Dales' food invention, but the Doctor wasn't hungry. An hour later it was taken away. The Doctor yawned. By the time night was beginning to fall, he had run out of escape plans, having extinguished all possible ideas. There was just too much security, and being an alien, his face would soon appear in all the newspapers. Even if he got out, he would soon be recognised.

The jail was now smothered in darkness, except for the bright laser beams. In the wall there was a tiny grill, no bigger than the Doctor's head. It was set high up, near the ceiling. From it came a low grating noise.

Puzzled, the Doctor walked over to it, trying to peer out. He jumped up, and glimpsed a tiny light. The light was moving, and the grating noise was getting louder.

"Hello?" called the Doctor.

There was no reply. Suddenly, the grate fell inside, sailing towards the floor. Lunging, the Doctor grabbed it before it hit the ground. He didn't want to attract the guards' attention, and there was definitely someone outside.

"Hello?" he called again, a little louder. "Is anyone there?"

"Sssshhhh!" hissed someone from outside. The Doctor turned over the grill in his hands, completely confused. He couldn't imagine _who_ would be outside. It couldn't be Donna. She was also locked up, but in a different jail. Who was it? The Doctor examined the grill. There was a hole in each corner, where there had once been screws. They had been taken out.

Suddenly there was a soft buzzing noise. Smoke began to creep through the wall, as well as a thin, black line, starting from the grill hole. A laser! Someone was lasering a hole in the wall! The Doctor would be free! He could see a thin red light. The line spread along in an odd shape, but just before it rejoined the hole, it was pushed forward, flipping sideways and hitting the wall. It hung there, and the Doctor squinted up at a bright flashlight. He could just see a familiar face, and his mouth fell open. It was the last person he had expected to see. "Wanda?!"

**_More to come..._**

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	12. Chapter 12

**Disclaimer: I do not own Doctor Who. This story is based on the Doctor Who characters and universe.**

**Science Assassin: Chapter twelve**

"Wanda?" repeated the Doctor in surprise.

Wanda looked down, shining her flashlight into the cell. "Hello Doctor. I came to get you out." She was dressed in a black suit, and was equipped with rope and a toolbox.

"You what?" the Doctor was completely shocked. Wanda had turned him in to prison. Now she was breaking the law to help him escape!

"I came to get you out." Wanda began unrolling the rope, pushing it down into the cell. "I'm sorry I turned you in. I know you're innocent. I found this." The notebook came flying down, and the Doctor picked it up. If he made allies this easily, he should leave more notebooks lying around. Grabbing the rope, he climbed up the wall. Just as he was about to exit through the hole however, an inside sensor detected him and a laser immediately shot across all the cell walls.

The Doctor reached for his sonic screwdriver in his pocket, only to remember that it wasn't there. "What do I do now?" he asked Wanda, swinging to avoid the laser.

Wanda, still holding onto the other end of the rope, opened the toolbox and pulled out a screwdriver. She adjusted a switchbox on the outside wall, and the lasers switched off. Relieved, the Doctor scrambled out. The cell had been built into the ground, so that the grill was at ground level outside. The night air was cool and refreshing after the stuffy cell, and he took a deep breath.

Wanda pulled up the rope and then shut the flap in the wall. Taking out an instrument, she soldered the metal together. When she was done, it would be hard to tell that the wall had been damaged in the first place from the inside, unless someone came and inspected the outer wall. She stood up when she had finished packing up her tools.

"Come on Doctor. We have to leave before they discover you're gone."

The Doctor followed Wanda to a clump of bushes, where she had hidden her bubble car. Climbing in the front seat, he watched as Wanda switched on the engine, wincing as it made a muffled croak. He hoped no one had heard that. As the car floated above the ground, his heart began to beat quickly. The engine was soft, but loud enough for guards to pick up.

"They'll hear the car," said the Doctor.

Wanda nodded, and then handed him a rough sack. "Crouch down, and cover yourself with this. I'll pretend to be a visitor, then they won't know you're in here."

The Doctor slipped down and pulled the sack over him. It was stuffy and dark, and without a seatbelt he was thrown about at every bump. He wondered where Wanda was going. Suddenly, the car screeched to a halt, and he heard a man's voice.

"Well, Miss, have you finished visiting?"

"Yes. Here is my pass."

The Doctor heard Wanda pass over a piece of paper.

"Seems alright Miss. Bit late for visiting though."

"There was a bit of a delay, and I didn't see my sister until late."

"I see. Well, you're the last one. I was just about to lock the gates. The computer didn't have you on the visitor list. Everyone has long gone."

"There must have been something wrong with the computer. With all the waves in the air these days, gadgets keep stuffing up."

"Yes. I'll have to have that checked. Well, your documents are in order, so good night."

"Good night."

There was the sound of a gate opening, and the car started again. The Doctor stayed where he was until they were well away from the jail. Then Wanda said, "You can get up now."

The Doctor sat back down on the car seat, leaning against the polished leather. They were driving along a dark road, towards the city. He could see the lights in the distance, and remembered how the jail had been right in the middle of the country, away from civilisation.

"I'm still amazed you bothered to rescue me," he said.

"Well, I was the one who got you in jail." Wanda kept her eyes on the dark country lanes, turning a sharp corner. "I had to get you out. It was the fair thing to do. Also, you seem to be the only one who can help, with all the murders and things like that."

"But the police had a photo of me. They'll be sure to put it in the papers, especially since I've escaped."

"I know. That was my fault as well. I took a photo of you in the bus and sent it to the police. That's why I brought this." Reaching into the back seat, Wanda handed a box to the Doctor. Opening it, he was greeted with tins of makeup. "You'll have to change you're appearance, so they don't know who you are."

The Doctor pulled out a jar and scrutinised it closely. It was an expensive brand, designed specifically for actors. "What should I dress up as?"

"Well, don't you think motroids are responsible for the murders?"

"Well, one was _definitely _hiding in the wall of that room. I would like to inspect that more."

"Since you suspect the motroids, you should talk to motroids. And the best way to do that is to dress up as a motroid."

The Doctor sat up. "You know, that sounds like a good idea! But how will I be able to hang around the hotel?"

"I say that I've hired you as a personal assistant. You can make your face pale and buy other clothes. You'll have to use yellow contacts as well."

Suddenly, an image of Donna flashed across the Doctor's mind. "Donna! Where is she? We have to rescue her!"

"She's already free." Wanda stopped at a red traffic light. "Her charge wasn't as serious as yours. She's on bail. I sent her somewhere safe."

"Safe?"

"The London aged care nursing home. She's acting as a nurse there. No one will suspect who she is." The light changed to green and the car started again. "Now, I'll stop off at a clothing store. You buy new clothes and change into your disguise. Spend the night at an inn or somewhere, and come to the hotel tomorrow morning." She handed the Doctor some notes, each reading 100 units. It occurred to him for the first time that she must be quite wealthy, judging by her expensive clothes and generous quantity of money.

"Right."

An hour later, Wanda drew up at the hotel. She had dropped the Doctor off at an expensive clothes store, since motroids were becoming wealthier nowadays. As she pulled into her designated parking space, she heard loud, excited voices. She could see flashing lights, and heard the wail of a siren.

Quickly, she hurried to the front doors. An ambulance and police car had just driven off. Arthur Dales was standing at the front door, his face pale.

"What happened?" asked Wanda.

Arthur Dales turned to her. "Sir Robert just died of a heart attack caused by all the excitement. Usually it's not that serious for him, but someone stole his pills! They were found in the pantry in the kitchen!"

**_More to come..._**

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	13. Chapter 13

**Disclaimer: I do not own Doctor Who. This story is based on the Doctor Who characters and universe.**

**_Please review!!_**

**Science Assassin: Chapter thirteen**

Donna pushed the trolley down the hall, careful not to spill the tea it was holding. She was dressed in a crisp nurse's uniform, with a pale turquoise dress and white apron. It had been nice of Wanda to let her out, but why send her _here_? All the way here, out in the country, as a nurse. Donna had never done nursing. She was glad that the job had not proved as difficult as she had thought...so far. Wanda had told her that it would be too dangerous to stay at the hotel, since the scientists were angry with her and that she would only be blamed for anything that happened and sent back to jail.

Checking a clipboard, Donna knocked at door number 57. "Come in!" came a croaky voice.

Pushing open the door, Donna wheeled in the trolley. Old Mrs Smith was sitting up in bed, dressed in a pink nightie and floral bed cap. Her wrinkled face reminded Donna of a prune; she was so old.

"Oh, thank you dearie. That looks lovely." Mrs Smith leaned back against the pillows as Donna placed a lap tray on the bed and served her hot tea and cake. "You know," continued Mrs Smith. "I think my drip needs replacing." She pointed to the sharp needle which was sticking into one of the many blue veins popping out of her arm. Donna tried not to look sick.

"Oh, I'm not in charge of that, but I'll get someone up right away to fix that." Donna began wheeling the trolley out of the room.

"Thank you!" called the old woman. Donna thankfully shut the door behind her and took a deep breath. She wondered how long she could keep up the job. She wasn't good at medical things. The sight of blood was enough to make her feel dizzy.

The next room belonged to another very old woman. Donna didn't know her name. The woman was sitting up in bed gazing out of the window. Unlike many of the other patients she had no drip and no medication was visible in the room. Her white hair was secured in a tight bun, and she said idly as Donna came into the room, "Thank you. Please leave it on the table."

As Donna put the woman's tea on the bedside table, the woman turned. Something about her face seemed familiar to Donna. The size of her nose, the colour of her eyes. When the woman saw Donna's face she froze. "I must be dreaming," she muttered. "It can't be."

"Are you ok?" asked Donna.

"I..." The old woman's eyes flickered, as if recalling some faint memory. "Donna?"

Donna was surprised. How did the old woman know her name? She didn't have a name tag on. Suddenly, her eyes fell on a clipboard pinned to the end of the bed. As she read the woman's name, she nearly fainted herself, and had to grab the trolley to keep from falling over. _Noble, Donna. Age: 87._

_XXXXXXXXXXXX_

The Doctor checked himself in the mirror as he entered the Hotel Noble. He almost didn't recognise himself. His usual dark hair was now a mangy grey, thanks to hair spray and powder. He had gelled it down so that it lay flat on his head. His face was a sickly pale, and he had put yellow contacts in his eyes. He was also dressed in a smart black suit, and had brought along a clipboard.

Wanda came from behind the counter, dressed in a black mourning dress. "Good morning Doctor," she said in a low voice. "From now on, I'll be calling you Carl. Here." She handed him a map of the hotel.

"Does it have to be Carl?" whined the Doctor. "Couldn't you think up a better name?"

"No." Wanda had returned to her usual self, in control. "I've put you down as Carl. Now, you'll never believe this, but the motroids struck again last night. Sir Robert had a minor heart attack. His heart is weak and the excitement and murder was all too much. Usually he would have survived with the help of his pills, but they were missing, only to be found later in the kitchen. Someone also cut the telephone wires so there was a delay in getting the ambulance. When it finally arrived, it was too late."

"Oh no!" The Doctor groaned. "If only I'd been here, I might have been able to help."

A flicker of guilt passed through Wanda's eyes. "Well, there's nothing you can do now. Today is the funeral for the three deceased scientists. I have to attend, but since you're new and didn't know the scientists, you weren't invited."

"Good, I can investigate the board room. Any news from Donna?"

"No. The telephone wires are still being repaired, but when they are fixed you can ring the home and ask for Miss Katrina Blend, her false name. Make sure no one hears you though." Wanda handed him a card for the nursing home. It was a pale yellow colour and had a floral decoration for a border. It looked like the kind of place Donna would hate. The Doctor put it in his pocket.

"So, am I free to look around?"

"Yes, here are the keys to the various rooms in the hotel." The Doctor was given a set of keys. "Maybe you should try and talk to some motroids as well. That might provide some information. And remember, you're Carl." Wanda walked off.

The Doctor looked at the set of keys in his hand. They were neatly marked. He made his way to the board room and unlocked the door. Straight away, he made for the back wall where the motroid was supposed to have hidden. It was made of great metal sheets, with only tiny black cracks in between each sheet. The Doctor tapped the wall and examined it thoroughly. He even put on his reading glasses, but found no trace of a secret passage. He rubbed the thin crack, and then smelt his finger. "Negative charge," he decided. "That motroid focused a beam of negative charge at Roland's ear. They must be pretty smart to know what to do."

Finding nothing else of interest in the room, the Doctor wandered out, trying to think of a place to look for the entrance to the passage inside the wall. As he passed the reception desk, he caught a whiff of smoke. A motroid was sitting at the desk, filing papers and smoking a cigarette. He looked up as the Doctor passed.

"Mornin'."

"Morning," replied the Doctor politely, trying not to cough at the strong smell of smoke. It seemed to be particularly strong, and smelled extremely foul. He was about to move away but then remembered Wanda's suggestion about getting information from motroids. Putting up with the smell, he picked up some papers and sorted through them. The motroid spoke up.

"You new here, eh?"

"Er, yes. I'm working for Wanda."

"Wanda." The motroid wrinkled his nose in disgust. "Bossy one she is." He took a long puff at his cigarette. "Always has to be in control. Everything has to go her way. Get sick of her sometimes."

"Yes, yes." The Doctor nodded understandingly. He couldn't imagine what it would be like to really work for Wanda. "So, have you heard about all those murders?"

"Aye." The motroid pulled out the day's newspaper and thrust it to the Doctor. "Pity the murderer escaped though. Said that he's an unknown alien and that he calls himself the Doctor. Apparently he cut a laser hole in the wall, though how he escaped security nobody knows."

The Doctor looked down at the newspaper. On the front page was a big picture of his face, and an article describing him, to be continued on page 4. He flicked open the paper, and came across an ad for the London aged care nursing home. It was described as a quiet, peaceful retirement village, and contained pictures of residents and their views. Suddenly, the Doctor froze and stared at the picture of an elderly woman, whom he had thought looked familiar. He gasped when he read the name underneath. _Donna Noble, 87._

**_More to come..._**

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	14. Chapter 14

**Disclaimer: I do not own Doctor Who. This story is based on the Doctor Who characters and universe.**

**_Please review!_**

**Science Assassin: Chapter fourteen**

The old Donna stared at the young Donna, and the young Donna stared at the old Donna. The young Donna's mouth was hanging wide open. She glanced from the name to the older version of herself.

"I...that's me?" The young Donna steadied herself before she knocked over the hot teapot. She couldn't believe it. She had met herself in the future. What should she do? The Doctor had never told her anything about this. "Um, hi Donna. I am you from the past."

The older Donna looked like she was about to faint. Her skin had turned pale. "Me? I don't remember meeting myself? Where did you come from? How did you get here? What's happening?" Old Donna was shaking; she was terrified. She pulled the blanket up to her chin and stared at Donna with wide eyes.

Young Donna drew up a chair and sat down, staring at herself. Really, she would have to make sure she changed her future hairdo! "Um, don't be scared. Remember, you were once sitting here talking...to you."

The old Donna just stared at the younger version of herself.

Young Donna continued, "Remember the Doctor? How he brought you here in his TARDIS? How I, I mean you, I mean we investigated the death of the scientists? How you were sent to jail but Wanda helped you escape?"

Old Donna looked at her blankly. Young Donna suddenly realised that she wouldn't be travelling with the Doctor forever. How much longer till she left? _Why_ would she leave? Did the old Donna suffer from amnesia? No. The clip board on her bed mentioned a weak heart but no amnesia. "Don't you remember?" she asked old Donna.

Old Donna shook her head. "What TARDIS? What Wanda? Doctor? Now, where I have I heard that name before?"

It was young Donna's turn to stare. Wouldn't she even remember her travels in her old age? Everything was so confusing. What should she do? If only she could talk to the Doctor. He was probably at the hotel...

Suddenly, a phone on the bedside table rang shrilly, making the Donnas jump. Young Donna picked it up. "Hello?"

"Is Miss Katrina Blend there? She should be somewhere on that level serving tea."

"Speaking."

"Oh, there's been a call for you through reception. I'll put you through."

Young Donna waited breathlessly. Who could be calling her? Not many people even knew her name, except for Wanda.

"Donna?" Donna breathed a huge sigh of relief as she recognised the Doctor's familiar voice.

"Doctor! Where are you? Did everything go OK? You'll never believe this, but I met myself! Here! In the nursing home! Only the old version is very confused and doesn't know what's going on. Doctor, in the future I won't even remember my travels. Why? The old me said your name is familiar, but she can't quite place it. When will I leave? I don't want to go back to earth! I- what? Don't touch myself?!... Oh, I see. Time paradox thingy?...Oh, OK then, I'll be careful...Why don't I remember you at all, or my travels?... What?...I don't remember you for a very good reason? What's that reason...You don't know?!...Oh, yeah. It hasn't happened to you yet...Yes, yes I won't touch her, I mean me...you're coming here? Dressed as a motroid? Why on earth would you want to look like one of those freaky things?!...to get information?...Oh I see. When will you arrive?...ASAP?...OK, yes I'll remember my name is Katrina...go away from me?...don't tell her anything?...bit late. I already mentioned you, the TARDIS and told her I was her from the past...I'm not a blabber mouth!...Well, you never told me what to do if I met myself...I DO think before I speak!...tell her it's a joke?...OK then, see you later."

Donna put down the phone and turned to herself. The old Donna was staring at her, mumbling to herself. The Doctor had told Donna not to touch her future self, otherwise she would create a time paradox which would cause all sorts of trouble. Donna wasn't really sure what the Doctor meant, but she decided to follow his instructions.

"Um, you fell for it!" she cried to the old Donna, trying to put on a wide grin.

The old Donna stared at her.

"It's part of a new program!" continued Donna. "Us nurses dress up as young version of you, as a joke! Did you like my costume, and wig?" She tugged at her hair, pretending it was fake. "I put on tons of makeup. Did I really look like you?"

"But, you mentioned the Doctor. I'm sure I've heard of that somewhere..." the old Donna looked confused.

"Oh, we always do a little research first." Donna pushed the trolley out of the room. "Hope it cheered you up. Bye!" The door slammed shut, leaving a stunned, 87 year old Donna staring after it.

XXXXXXXXXXX

The Doctor put down the hotel phone. Things were not going well. Donna meeting herself only created an unnecessary hurdle. Who knew how much she had told herself? He had to find out, in case a paradox occurred. Could he safely meet the future her without damaging time? Why didn't she remember him? How long until Donna really left? The Doctor was thinking deeply as he turned around. He had quizzed the motroid at the desk, but hadn't been able to gather any information. Suddenly, the Doctor stopped short, gripping the desk as his head spun. Things began to go blurry as a wave of dizziness washed over him. What was happening? Was he sick? Everything was beginning to blur into white. Then suddenly, he passed out.

**_More to come..._**

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	15. Chapter 15

**Disclaimer: I do not own Doctor Who. This story is based on the Doctor Who characters and universe.**

**_Please review so I know if the story is good or if it needs improvement._**

**Science Assassin: Chapter fifteen**

Wanda and the group of scientists filed out of the church as the funeral finished, and headed for the neares bus stop. Wanda was keeping a sharp eye on the scientists, determined not to let any of them get injured. She kept them far away from all motroids, fearful of their involvement in the recent murders. She wondered how the Doctor was doing, back at the hotel. Had he found any information?

The scientists were chatting mournfully as they waited for the bus to take them back to the hotel. Since Sir Robert's death, Fred Colle had been elected as head of the committee. He had also played a part in researching the motroids and bringing them to earth.

The bus stop was situated next to a busy road. Bubble cars sped past, occasionally honking their horns. Mr Long watched them proudly. He was the one who had invented them. Their 'zero gas emission' systems and small size had fixed traffic problems and lowered pollution. Mr Long was very proud of his cars.

A motroid stepped out of a parked car and walked over to the group. Wanda was talking to Mr Hew about his new element, which she was immensely interested in, and didn't notice the alien creep up. Suddenly, without any warning, Mr Long was shoved roughly onto the road and into the path of a fast bubble car. Startled, he tried to hurry back to the footpath, but it was too late. With a loud tooting of horns, the car swerved, only to crash into the path of another car which skidded straight into poor Mr Long. He was knocked to the ground, hitting his head badly.

At once, a crowd of people gathered around him. Someone dialled an ambulance, someone checked his pulse, someone checked his breathing, and the drivers of the cars came out to inspect the damage and help the injured scientist. Wanda pushed to the front, and quickly averted her eyes from Mr Long's crumpled body. She knew he wasn't dead, but he was covered in injuries, from a cracked skull to broken arms and legs. Wanda couldn't bear to look. She caught sight of a motroid jumping in a car and driving away at top speed. An idea suddenly struck her. Grabbing the car keys off one of the drivers, she leaped into his damaged car and switched on the engine. To her relief, it choked, coughed and then spluttered to life. She sped after the motroid in the smashed up vehicle, glad that it still ran. She was determined to catch the assassin.

The bubble car was badly damaged. One of the doors had been ripped off, the front was smashed and there was a large hole in the roof. Luckily, Mr Long had carefully designed the engines to withstand hard conditions. Wanda carefully followed the motroid, ignoring the stares and points given to her by pedestrians at the dilapidated car.

At first the motroid drove quickly, way over the speed limit, but after it had past a few suburbs, it slowed down, oblivious to Wanda's following. She crept behind it, trying not to attract its attention. Unfortunately, the car she was driving was a sorry sight, and when the motroid glanced at it in its rear view mirror and recognised it, it began speeding up again. When it was stopped at a red light at a busy intersection, it escaped from the car and began running down the footpath. Without thinking, Wanda ran after it.

Wanda chased the motroid down the street. As she followed it, she smiled grimly at this new activity. A week ago she would never had dreamed of doing such a thing. Her hair was a mess, her dress was dusty and askew, and her high heels were broken. She was beginning to lose her breath. Glancing at the motroid which was racing ahead of her, she suddenly had an idea. Slipping into a doorway, she watched the motroid as it ran. It shot a look behind it, and was surprised to see no one following. It looked around, puzzled. Finally, it seemed at ease, thinking that Wanda had given up. It shrugged its thin shoulders and continued up the street, this time walking in a leisurely manner.

Wanda smiled. Her plan had worked. Cautiously, she followed the motroid, moving slowly so that her shoes wouldn't make a sound as she walked. The motroid didn't look back once. It was sure that there was no pursuer. It turned a corner and Wanda found herself on a familiar street. They were heading towards the hotel. And suddenly, she recognised the motroid. It was one of the workers at the reception desk.

Knowing where the motroid was heading, Wanda decided to take a short cut. Cutting through some back alleys, she slipped in a side gate and entered the hotel doors. She looked out, and saw the motroid still walking up the street. Quickly, Wanda ran back to her room and changed into neat, business like clothes. She changed her hairstyle and put on clean high heels, and then made her way outside. The motroid was just entering the building. Wanda stopped it, knowing that it wouldn't recognise her.

"Excuse me, but you have taken rather a long break. I've been waiting for you for ages. I need you to do some filing."

The motroid looked down, as if ashamed. "Sorry miss," he said. "I was held up, you see. My car broke down, and I had to walk back."

_They really are good actors_, thought Wanda. "Well, that's no excuse. You know you get paid by the hour. I shall have to take it off your salary."

The motroid nodded.

"Also," continued Wanda. "You have delayed a lot of important work, and we shall now have to work overtime to get it done." A tear ran down the motroid's cheek. Wanda felt like a mother scolding a child. She frowned sternly. "Now, come on."

"Please miss. I...have to go somewhere."

"Where?"

"To my room. I have to make an important call."

"To who?"

"My boss."

"_I_ am your boss."

"Yes, but I've taken up a part time job somewhere else, at a hardware store, and I need to tell my boss that I've ordered in new stock for him."

"Must it be now?"

"Yes."

"Use the reception phone."

"I can't. It's in use. I have to tell my boss now, in case he orders the stock himself. Then, the shop will have bought double stock."

Wanda glanced at the reception desk, where a surly motroid was on the phone, frowning at her to keep quiet. She knew the motroid was lying, and that it didn't really have a job. It probably needed to go to its leader and report that it had failed in killing Long. She needed to get the police so that they could arrest the motroid. She could count as an eye witness.

"I am afraid you shall just have to wait. There is urgent filing which needs to be done."

Wanda led the motroid to the desk, where it sulkily stacked papers. She slipped to her office and looked in. The Doctor wasn't there. Where was he? He would know what to do. Turning on a microphone, she made an announcement which blared through the whole hotel through loudspeakers.

"Could Mr Carl Smith please report to the reception desk at once? Mr Carl Smith, to the reception desk at once. Thank you."

**_More to come..._**

**_Please review!!_**


	16. Chapter 16

**Disclaimer: I do not own Doctor Who. This story is based on the Doctor Who characters and universe.**

**_On the reviews page, the review that says 'cool update soon' which is apparently from me is not. My sister accidentally reviewed in my name._**

**Science Assassin: Chapter sixteen**

The Doctor was chained to a tall, metal pole in a square room. Two sullen faced motroids were guarding him, pointing guns at him. The Doctor's head was still spinning after his collapse, but at least he could see clearly now. There was still a strong, familiar smell in the room. What was it? The smoke from the motroid's cigar! It had poisoned him, causing him to lose consciousness. It was floating in the air now. He wondered why the motroids were not affected. Were they immune to it?

"So, er, hi! I'm the Doctor." The Doctor spoke to the two guards.

They said nothing.

"Can I ask where I am?"

The one of the motroids spoke up. "In the board room's walls."

"Oh," the Doctor had forgotten about the secret passages. "Where's the entrance?"

"Kitchen pantry."

"Oh. So, are you in charge of the murders?"

No answer.

"You could at least tell me something."

"The major will be coming soon. He will explain everything before your extermination."

"I see," the Doctor tried to look calm. "May I ask how I am going to be exterminated?"

"The pole you are tied to is plugged into an electric circuit. When I press this switch," the motroid pointed to a button on the wall, "electric currents will run through the metal, electrocuting you alive."

"Hmmm, pleasant way to die, isn't it?" commented the Doctor sarcastically.

The motroids said nothing.

The Doctor was bored. He wasn't really worried about electrocution. He'd think up a way out. And if he didn't, he could always regenerate. He wondered how Wanda was going. She had promised to keep the remaining members of the science committee away from motroids. Now, he had definite proof that they were up to no good. Why had they poisoned him? For interfering, probably. That was why they wanted to get rid of him. What about Donna? He hoped she had listened and stayed away from her future self. Suddenly he remembered. He was supposed to be visiting the nursing home! Donna would be waiting for him! What would she do?

Suddenly, loud footsteps echoed around the room, and a short, rather plump motroid entered. It was the major.

XXXXXXXXXXXX

Donna sat in the dining room at a table by herself, her heart thumping. Where was the Doctor? He had promised to come ASAP, as soon as possible, and now it had been hours and no sign of him! She wondered if she should go and talk to old Donna. The nurse who had taken her lunch had said that the old woman was not eating, and was only muttering to herself. Even worse, she had started to develop a fever and bad headache. Donna was concerned...about herself. Her old self. The Doctor had told her to keep away, but he hadn't known that she would get sick. And where was he?

Donna pushed the pasta around on her plate, not hungry. Eventually she emptied it into a bin and wandered upstairs, deep in thought. She found herself in front of the old Donna's door. The Doctor had told her to keep away! But he wasn't here. He hadn't kept his promise. He wasn't helping. So Donna decided to take matters into her own hands, and opened the door.

A fearsome sight met her eyes. Old Donna was lying in bed, her face a white as a sheet. She was stock still.

"Donna?" asked Donna. "Are you OK?"

The old woman didn't move. Her chest wasn't moving. Suddenly, Donna realised the awful truth. She was dead.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

The motroid major was a plump, extremely short man, with pale, yellowy skin and rotten teeth. He was dressed in an old army suit and carried a giant gun, almost as big as himself. He guffawed when he saw the Doctor.

"So, hello Doctor!" The major spoke in a loud, shouting voice. Whenever he spat out a word, droplets of saliva flew out.

"I trust you are the major. Did you see through my disguise?"

"Of course. We know what you've been up to. We even helped you escape from prison. How do you think Wanda obtained the right papers so easily? I simply placed a motroid at the prison desk, and you were out in a flash. You never suspected, did you?"

"No." The Doctor frowned. He hadn't expected the motroids to know so much. "Now, are you or are you not in charge of the murders?"

"What do you think?"

"Yes."

"Yes, we are responsible for those certain...injuries."

"Injuries! You murdered three scientists and seriously injured another one!" The Doctor was furious.

"I think you mean injured another two."

"What? You tried another murder? When? Who?"

"Mr Long, inventor of the bubble cars. Shoved him right into the road. Didn't kill him though, but he'll be out of action for a while."

"Your motive?"

"Us motroids like living here on earth. We know humans are trying to get rid of us. I don't like the idea of a giant, human made planet. It will just fall to pieces. No. Earth is much better. No scientists, no planet."

"What about Wanda?"

"That brat? When you're gone we'll exterminate her as well. And your other friend, Donna was it? I know that right now she's at the London aged care nursing home. I have three motroids heading there to exterminate her. They're going to dress up as nurses."

"No!" The Doctor knew that he had to protect Donna, since he was responsible for her on his travels. "Do what you like to me, but don't kill her!"

"Hahahahahahaha!" laughed the major. "Since it upsets you so much, I think I'll change my plans." He pulled a mobile phone out of his pocket and dialled a number. "Gertrude? It's the major here. There's been a change of plans. Are you at the nursing home yet?... Well, when you get there don't kill the girl yet. Bring her here...yes, we've got the Doctor...I want to kill her in front of him. Bit of torture, you know...well, think up some excuse...say you're working for Wanda and that the Doctor has sent for her...well, if that doesn't work just give her a whiff of that smoke...ok, see you soon."

The Doctor looked down at the chains in dismay. He _had_ to get out, and soon. He had to warn Donna, and Wanda as well. And another scientist had been hurt in his absence. Who knew how long until the next one was injured? He had to help them! But he needed to think of a plan...and fast.

**_More to come..._**

**_Please review!!_**


	17. Chapter 17

**Disclaimer: I do not own Doctor Who. This story is based on the Doctor Who characters and universe.**

**Science Assassin: Chapter seventeen**

Donna stared at the lifeless form on the bed, and gulped. Here she was, looking at her own dead body. How had she died? She had seemed fine only earlier that day. It was so sudden. Could it have had anything to do with meeting herself? Had the shock been too great?

Donna tentatively walked up to the bed. She recalled the Doctor's words, _Whatever you do, don't touch yourself! You'll create a time paradox!_ Time paradox? Donna still had no idea what would happen. Anyway, the future her was dead. Surely it wouldn't matter now?

XXXXXXXXXXX

Wanda stood by the desk, watching the motroid file papers. She had to stop it from getting to its leader. If they didn't know the results, maybe they would delay future killings until information was received. The motroid was almost finished. She would have to think up some way of delaying it.

"I am finished now miss. Can I go?" the motroid put a last paper in the tall, metal filing cabinet and turned to Wanda.

"No." Wanda stood up straight, trying to look important. "There is more work to be done."

"What?" whined the motroid, it's pale face twisting into a sour scowl. "I have to ring my boss. I need to tell him I ordered stock!"

"Stock or no stock, I don't care. If you want to work here, you work when you're meant to work. If you don't want to work here, you can leave." Wanda reached for a resignation file on the reception desk. She knew the motroid relied on its job at the hotel for getting information to its leader.

"No no no no no no no! I stay!" exclaimed the motroid, grabbing the form. "I no leave! I stay! I do work!"

"Thank you." Wanda smiled. "Now, the front windows are looking rather grimy. They could do with a good wash."

"But that takes so long..."

Wanda waved the paper in the air.

"I go! I go!" The motroid scurried into a walk in cupboard and soon ran out brandishing bucket and cloth. Wanda watched it hurriedly polish the windows, rubbing vigorously on the glass. "Slow down!" she called. "I don't want any windows broken. They've been here ever since Miss Noble founded the hotel." Miss Noble! The same name as Donna! And Miss Noble who had founded the hotel was also called Donna! Was it a coincidence? Wanda suddenly felt worried. The Doctor was a time traveller. He could be from the past. What if it was the same Donna? What if- what if she met herself? That would be chaotic; even Wanda could figure that out. She had sent Donna to a nursing home, the biggest one in the country, where she could avoid suspicion, but where had Miss Noble gone when she retired?

Wanda ran to the filing cabinet and pulled open a drawer, shuffling through the papers at top speed. She knew that the hotel kept most of its old articles and files. Selecting one, she frantically read it. It was a newspaper, quite old, printed when Wanda was still a young girl. _After her recent retirement, Miss Donna Noble has moved to the London aged care nursing home out in the country. She says she looks forward to a quiet, peaceful retirement away from the chaos of her famous hotel, the Hotel Noble. During her life, Miss Noble made the hotel a great success. It is passing into the hands of Mr John Anderson, chief manager of the hotel._

Wanda knew Mr Anderson. He was her employer, but already he was thinking of retirement. There was a picture of Donna Noble on the newspaper clipping. One was of her in her old age, her wrinkled face smiling. Another was of when she had first opened the hotel, and this made Wanda sick with worry. She looked exactly like the Donna who travelled with the Doctor. _What have I done?_ Thought Wanda. _What if I make time trouble? And where is the Doctor?_

XXXXXXXXXXXXX

Arthur Dales sat in the taxi as it drove speedily towards the hotel. He was stunned by the recent events. Another terrible assassination attempt. Poor Mr Long was in hospital in a coma. It was unsure as to whether he would survive. He suffered a punctured lung and brain damage.

Arthur Dales was puzzled. How could the Doctor have done this when he was in jail? Wanda had run off after the accident. He had seen her chasing a car. An ambulance had arrived, which had quickly taken Mr Long to hospital. The other scientists were having lunch at a restaurant, after hiring two motroid body guards. Arthur wasn't hungry. He had volunteered to go and find Wanda.

Now, he was sure the Doctor wasn't guilty. But then who was it? Was it the motroids like he had suggested? A sudden thought made Arthur sit up straight. The motroids were under suspicion, and the science committee had just hired two motroids body guards! That had been half an hour ago.

"Driver, turn around! Go back to the restaurant!" As the taxi swung around and headed back into the city, Arthur Dales waited, hoping that he wasn't too late.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Donna stared at herself. She felt sick. What should she do? Should she raise the alarm? Should she escape? She wasn't even meant to be at the nursing home. Before she could make a decision however, there were footsteps down the corridor. A motroid doctor looked in, followed by two motroid nurses. "Well, here she is, doctor," one of the nurses said.

Donna felt immediately better. The Doctor had finally come! _And_ he was dressed as a motroid, like he had said. She wondered who the other two nurses were. Maybe one was Wanda, but who was the other one? The Doctor seemed to trust them, so she decided it was alright.

"It's about time, Doctor," she said as the motroid walked into the room. "Bit late though, the future me died."

"Future you?" the Doctor raised his eyebrows in surprise.

_His voice sounds a bit different,_ thought Donna. _Probably part of his disguise. He likes putting on accents._ "Stop it! You know what I mean! This is me from the future." Donna stepped back from the bed and pointed to herself. "I don't what happened, but I didn't touch her."

One of the nurses whispered something to the Doctor, who nodded. "I see." He looked from Donna to the old Donna. "Gertrude, go and get one of the human nurses to see to the body. Donna, come on. We're going back to the hotel."

"Now?" Donna couldn't believe it. "But, aren't you going to find out why she died?" She pointed to the future her. "I mean, it was very sudden."

"No, no, no, no." The Doctor began walking out the door. "Come on Donna. We have to get back to the hotel and find the science committee. NOW!"

His unnatural commanding voice surprised Donna. She followed him out and down the corridor to the lifts. "Nice costume by the way," she remarked. "Where'd you get it?"

"Bought it. You like?"

"Very, motroidish. But I think you should have dressed up as something else. Those aliens freak me out, with their icky skin and yellow eyes."

The two nurses and the Doctor turned to look at her. One of the nurses growled menacingly. Donna stepped back. "Um, no offense meant. Who are these nurses anyway Doctor? Is one of them Wanda?"

"This one is Wanda," the Doctor pointed to one of them. "And this one is Gertrude, Wanda's sister." His voice was cool and unfriendly.

"Oh, I see." Donna and the others entered a lift. "Wow. Wanda and Gertrude must have used so much makeup. I would never know you were really dark skinned." The nurses merely smiled. Donna felt a twinge of terror. This didn't seem normal. The Doctor didn't seem normal. He wasn't even interested in the future Donna. HIs voice, his manner, it was all different.

"Come on Donna." The Doctor led Donna out to a waiting bubble car. He opened the door, but Donna hesitated. For the first time she feared the Doctor. _What was wrong with him?_

**_More to come..._**

**_Please review!!_**


	18. Chapter 18

**Disclaimer: I do not own Doctor Who. This story is based on the Doctor Who characters and universe.**

**Science Assassin: Chapter eighteen**

Wanda stared at the newspaper clipping before shoving it into the filing cabinet. She scolded herself on being so unthoughtful. She should have checked before sending Donna away. She had only decided on the nursing home because someone had left the nursing home's business card on the reception desk, and it was the easiest position to get. _I have to get her away_, she thought. _And where is the Doctor?_

Making sure the motroid was still cleaning the windows, Wanda picked up the phone on the reception desk. She was glad that the lines had been mended that morning. With a shaking finger, she dialled the number of the nursing home, listening to the melodic beeps as she pushed down each soft rubber button. Tentatively, she waited as the phone rang, her heart pounding as the shrill _Bbrrrrrrrrrrrrrriiiinggggggggggggg Bbrrrrrrrrrrrriiingggggggggggggg_ went on and on. At last, the phone on the other end was picked up, and a sharp voice answered.

"London aged care nursing home, administration."

"Oh, er, good afternoon. May I please speak to Miss Katrina Blend? She is one of the nurses."

"According to our roster Miss Katrina Blend left a little while ago. We are not sure where. She still had to finish her shift, and the time will have to be taken out of her pay."

Wanda barely listened to the nurse's babble about salaries and uncaring nurses. Her heart sank. _Where had Donna gone? Why had she left, especially without any word?_

"Um, did she leave with anyone?"

"Well, another nurse saw her with two other nurses and a doctor. They were motroids."

Motroids! Was it a trap? Had Donna been kidnapped? But the Doctor was dressed as a motroid. Wanda breathed a sigh of relief. It must have been the Doctor. He must have told Donna he was dressed up and gone to get her for something. But who were the nurses? Friends?

Wanda decided that the Doctor had discovered some information and had gone to collect Donna. Careless of him, really. What if the scientists recognised her? Where were the scientists?! Wanda suddenly remembered. She hoped they were OK. She had to go look for them! But she couldn't leave the motroid. Who could she trust?

"Hello? Are you still there?" The voice on the phone was sounding impatient.

"Oh, yes, sorry." A sudden thought struck Wanda. "There's someone else I'd like to speak to. May I talk to Miss Donna Noble?"

The voice became sad. "I'm sorry, but I have some sad news. Miss Donna Noble died earlier today. Doctors have found the cause of death mysterious. Her brain practically exploded inside her head. It wasn't a stroke. I'm sorry."

Wanda was silent. Donna? Dead? What had happened? "Well, thank you." She put down the phone and thought for a while. Too many things were happening in one day. She was starting to get a headache. She had to go and find the scientists, but she had to have the motroid watched.

Suddenly, a door opened and Mr John Anderson walked by. His grey hair was thinning and his face was wrinkled. He walked with a hunch and his cheeks were droopy. Wanda called to him. "Mr Anderson!"

"Oh, hello Wanda. I see you've been managing the hotel quite well. You know what? I've finally decided to retire. I shall have to find someone to pass the ownership of the hotel into, but you won't lose your job. I've never seen a better hotel manager."

"Thank you Mr Anderson." A few days ago Wanda would have been thrilled with the comments, but today she merely brushed them away. "I have something important to tell you."

Slowly, without missing any details, Wanda filled Mr Anderson in on all the events of the past few days.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

As the taxi drew up outside a modern Italian restaurant, Arthur Dales literally flung open the door and jumped out. He thrust some notes at the surprised taxi driver and hurried inside. He looked around, and finally spotted the science committee. They were sitting at a table, eating from heaped plates containing piles of spaghetti, slabs of veal and mountains of risotto, and drinking red wine. One of the motroid body guards was talking to Mr Hew. The other was nowhere to be seen.

Arthur Dales walked up to the group. After a quick head count he discovered no one was missing, except the body guard.

"Dales! Have something to eat!" Colle pushed forward a plate and poured a glass of wine. Arthur sat down.

"Colle! The committee is in danger from the motroids!"

"Don't tell me you believe that silly doctor. He was nuts." Colle stuffed a spoonful of pasta into his mouth, chewing vigorously.

"If he is in jail, then how come Long was pushed into the road?"

"I don't know, but it could always have been a freak accident."

"A freak accident?! So, someone is shoved into the path of a moving car _accidentally?_" Dales was stunned. "I'm sure you have more sense than that. I don't think it was the Doctor. It's them." He pointed to the body guard. "They're the culprits. We have to get rid of them."

"Rid of them? They're harmless."

"No they are not!" Arthur was getting frustrated.

"Look, we don't have proof against them. We can't accuse them. And we will get rid of them. That's the whole point of the committee."

The body guard was examining a piece of Hue Hew's new element, which was named Hew. The motroid turned the big, clay-like lump around in its hands. The element was a metallic grey colour, and quite soft and sticky. Mr Hew was explaining its properties.

"So you see, hew is very useful in hot, dry desert conditions because although it is grey in colour it reflects heat instead of absorbing it. Of course, being highly explosive safety measures must be taken. The smallest flame brought near a cm cube of hew can set off quite a large explosion."

Arthur pricked up his ears at this last sentence. _Explosive?_ The motroid seemed quite interested. It examined the lump closely. Arthur watched as it turned it around, shaking it, even smelling it. The motroid looked towards the back door, and then back down at the lump. It put it down on the table.

"I think I will go and find Mark, the other body guard." The motroid stalked off, glancing back at the element.

"Hew, get rid of that right now!" Arthur shoved the lump across the table to Hew.

"Whatever for?" Hew left the hew alone and concentrated on spooning risotto into his mouth. "I like to leave it out for people to examine."

"What if it comes near a flame? What if that motroid sets it on fire? You told him too much!"

"I did not!" exclaimed Hew indignantly. "It was only interested. It won't-"

At that moment a lit match flew through the air at top speed, landing on the table cloth right next to the lump of hew.

"NO!" Arthur desperately tried to flick it away, but he was to late.

**BOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOM!**

**_More to come..._**

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	19. Chapter 19

**_Sorry I haven't updated for ages._**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Doctor Who. This story is based on the Doctor Who characters and universe.**

**Science Assassin: Chapter nineteen**

Mr Anderson scratched his head thoughtfully as Wanda concluded her tale.

"Well, you seem to have quite a fine story there. I trust that it's true?"

"Every word of it." Wanda needed Mr Anderson's help. She had worked for him for years and trusted him. She would ask him to watch the motroid while she went to find the science committee.

"Well then, where is this, er, Doctor?"

"I'm pretty sure he's on his way back here. He picked up Donna from the nursing home."

"I see. Well, he seems to be able to manage that future Donna thing. Now about the motroids. How can you be sure they're in the wrong?"

"Well, that motroid over there pushed Mr Long into the path of a moving car. That should be proof enough."

"Hmmm, well, things are looking bad for the motroids at the moment. What did you want me to do?"

"Can you give that motroid lots of jobs until I come back?" Wanda pointed to the motroid. "He's the one who pushed Mr Long onto the road. He should be in jail but I don't want to rouse the alarm among the motroids. Just get him to do things like paperwork. And if he tells you a story about some hardware store and stock, don't believe him. It's a lie to get away."

"OK then." Mr Anderson walked over to the filing cabinet. He pulled open a drawer and yanked out armfuls of paper which he scattered over the desk. "If I ask him to put all this away, it will give you some time. Filing is so tedious. And if he finishes before you get back, I'll get him to wash my car. It's a bit on the muddy side."

"Thank you Mr Anderson!" Wanda sighed in relief, grabbed her handbag and headed out the door. The motroid saw her leaving and put down his polishing cloth.

"Are you going? Can I stop now?"

"NO!" Wanda kicked over his bucket of soapy water. "Finish those windows, and then Mr Anderson has some filing to do. Hurry up!"

Leaving the sulky motroid behind, she ran to her car. Where would the science committee be? At the hospital? Wanda glanced at the digital clock in her car. No. It was now late afternoon, after 2 o'clock. The science committee would probably be finishing lunch.

Wanda racked her brains to remember all the city restaurants. She had handed out coupons and vouchers on the first day. Had any been for restaurants? Suddenly she remembered. She had given out coupons for Mario's Italian restaurant, in the city. That was the most likely place.

Putting her car into gear, Wanda drove towards the city, heading straight for Mario's Italian restaurant.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Arthur Dales rubbed soot from his face and pushed away a fallen chair. Slowly, he sat up. No bones had been broken. He looked around. The restaurant was a mess. Pasta was strewn all over the floor, tables were overturned and chairs were broken. There were ambulance officers wheeling someone out and police inspecting the damage. Mario, the restaurant owner, was wringing his hands, his face worried and his trimmed black moustache curved down. There was no one else around.

Arthur stood up. What had happened? He had been unconscious for a while. He remembered the hew explosion, when he had been thrown back. What had happened to the rest of the science committee?

Mr Prumble came up, his arm in a sling.

"Prumble, what happened to everyone?"

"Well, most diners were taken to hospital. Thankfully, no one was killed. Hew has a burnt face, Colle minor concussion, and Mckenzie a broken arm. I just sprained my wrist. Luckily, Hew explodes with a large amount of force, but no flames or sparks. The last ambulance just left."

A police officer came up. Arthur noticed he was motroid.

"Can you give me any information regarding the explosion? I understand it was caused by a match hitting a piece of hew." The policeman spoke in a monotonous voice, droning out the words, as if he were bored.

"Yes. I think it was caused by a motroid body guard," explained Arthur. "He was examining the hew, and then left. Moments later, the match was thrown. I tried to flick it away, but I was too late."

"The police have the body guard in custody. Anything else?"

"No. Has he confessed?"

"That is confidential material. I am not permitted to release it to the public." The policeman abruptly turned and walked away."

Suddenly, the doors were flung open and Wanda burst in. "What happened? I saw smoke coming out of the roof! And ambulances! Have the motroids attacked again?"

Prumble related the incidents to her. Wanda was furious.

"You scientists are so stupid! Motroid body guards? After being warned?"

"We weren't warned," replied Prumble coolly.

"Yes you were. The Doctor suspected the motroids, but you didn't listen to him." Wanda was feeling very annoyed.

"The Doctor was mad. Anyway, he's in jail now."

"Well, I have proof that the motroids are guilty. I found the one who pushed Long into the road. He's at the hotel now."

"Really? So, the motroids are guilty?" Prumble was surprised, and unbelieving. Wanda quickly relayed her information, hoping that she would finally get the scientist to believe her.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

The Doctor was still chained to the pole in the secret room. He was worried about Donna. He hoped she would be smart enough to evade the motroids. As for him, he needed to escape. Confident that the Doctor couldn't get away, the major had ordered the two guards to go off on separate errands before marching off somewhere, leaving the Doctor alone.

The Doctor looked around the small, bare room. There was nothing in it except the pole and the power switch. There was a lump in his suit pocket. He managed to pry out his alien detector, which was still on. Numerous red lights were beeping. Careful not to drop it, the Doctor twisted his hand, trying to reach the buttons. Finally, he succeeded in turning a tiny knob. As a red light switched on and shone in a thin, pin-prick straight line towards the chain links, the Doctor smiled.

"Laser. Always comes in handy."

**_More to come...._**

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	20. Chapter 20

**_Only two more chapters to go._**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Doctor Who.**

**Science Assassin: Chapter twenty**

As the old, run down bubble car drove rapidly through the crowded London streets, Donna gripped her seat, feeling sick. The doctor was driving like a mad man, speeding through red lights and turning corners at a tremendous speed. She had tried to start a conversation, but he seemed unkeen to talk. So Donna was resigned to sitting with her eyes shut tight so as not to feel sick as the buildings shot past the car window.

In the back seat, the one of the motroid nurses was talking on a mobile phone, her hand over her mouth so that Donna wouldn't hear her conversation. She was sniggering at something. Donna wasn't sure what. Finally, to her relief, the car drew up with a screech outside the front of the hotel.

Donna jumped out of the car and slammed the door shut.

"Don't you ever drive like that again!" she scolded the doctor. "The TARDIS is bad enough, but that was the _worst_ drive I've ever had."

"Sorry," replied the doctor, walking in through the front doors. "Now, let's go and find the motroids' lair. I found the tunnel leading to behind the board room wall. Wanda and Gertrude, you go and get the police."

One of the nurses went over to the reception desk phone while the other walked off in the opposite direction. The one at the reception desk began talking to a tired looking motroid holding a bucket and rag. He appeared to have just finished washing the windows, although half were still dusty.

"Come on Donna." The Doctor led the way into the kitchen and into the pantry. He pushed hundreds of packets onto the floor and switched a switch which was on the pantry's back panel.

"Shouldn't you pick those up?" asked Donna. "I mean, you've made it pretty obvious that you've found the passage."

"Motroid waiters will pick those up." The Doctor stepped into a doorway which had opened when some shelves slid back and the back panels opened, revealing a lit corridor. "They're used to cleaning up after the motroids which use this passage."

Donna walked down the well lit corridor, feeling slightly nervous. What would they find? A whole army of armed motroids? Turning a corner, she found a bigger room with rooms leading off it. A motroid came out of one, and then stopped suddenly. He was holding a small machine.

"Donna?"

His voice sounded familiar. Donna was amazed. "Doctor?"

"Donna, what are you doing here? How did you get in here? Who's that?"

Donna looked at the motroid who she had assumed was the doctor. He spoke up.

"Donna, don't believe him. He's a fake."

"No I'm not!" said the motroid with the machine. "He's a fake. I'm the real Doctor. See." He pulled his hair and white powder flew into the air.

The other motroid also pulled his hair, and white power flew into the air as well. "I'm the real doctor. See? He's a faker. He's a motroid who's put flour in his hair."

Donna was confused. At first, she had thought the first motroid's voice sounded different, but now both motroids spoke with exactly the same tone. Who should she believe?

"That's the Doctor's machine," she said, pointing to the device and recognising it.

"He stole it off me," said the motroid. "Give it back you motroid."

"No, it's mine. He's the motroid. I'm a time lord." The motroid with the machine put the machine in his pocket.

"WHAT'S GOING ON HERE?" came a big booming voice. A short motroid stamped in, his large barrel shaped belly sticking out in front of him. He was brandishing a giant gun almost the same size as him. "WHAT ARE YOU DOING? YOU ARE MEANT TO BE TIED UP. HOW DID YOU GET AWAY? GUARDS! COME HERE! THE DOCTOR GOT AWAY! TIE HIM UP. ELECTROCUTE HIM. THE DONNA PERSON IS HERE AS WELL. ARREST HER." He suddenly noticed the other motroid. "YOU. WHO ARE YOU? ARE YOU THE DOCTOR? WHICH ONE IS THE DOCTOR?"

Even the major was confused! More motroids ran in, carrying guns. Donna and the two motroids were surrounded.

"WHICH ONE IS THE REAL DOCTOR?" The major was annoyed. This was ruining his plans. How had the Doctor escaped?

"He is," said the Doctor.

The other motroid replied, "He is."

All the motroids were confused. Which one should they arrest? Suddenly, the major pointed his gun at Donna. "RIGHT. TELL ME WHICH OF YOU IS THE DOCTOR OR SHE DIES."

"I'm the Doctor," said the Doctor, pulling out his machine. "See. This belongs to me. Let her go. She doesn't know anything."

"Yes I do!" exclaimed Donna, annoyed. "You'll never guess what happened Doctor. The future me died!"

"FUTURE YOU? YOU ARE MAD." The major put his finger on the trigger. The Doctor aimed his laser at the major but suddenly there was a loud beeping and smoke started coming out of the machine. It was broken!

"I DO NOT LIKE MAD PEOPLE. I DO NOT LIKE HUMANS. THAT IS WHY WE ARE GETTING RID OF THEM ONCE AND FOR ALL. YOU DO NOT KNOW THIS, BUT WE HAVE A GIANT, SMOKE FILLED BOMB. WHEN WE LIGHT IT, ALL HUMANS WILL BE SHOT OFF THE PLANET IN THE EXPLOSION. THEY MIGHT LAND ON MARS, IF THEY'RE LUCKY. US MOTROIDS WILL STAY HERE. WE HAVE ALL ARRANGED TO GET INTO OUR SPECIALLY DESIGNED STAYING PODS WHICH WE HAVE ALL BUILT. MOTROIDS WILL GET EARTH, AND ITS RESOURCES."

"Major, unfuse your bomb and the motroids will survive. Humans are building you a planet. You'll never have to see them again, and you'll have all the resources necessary," the Doctor explained.

"NO. HUMANS WOULD NOT DO THAT. THEY DO NOT LIKE US. WE DO NOT LIKE THEM. THAT IS WHY THEY ARE GOING, FOR GOOD." The major was just about the shoot Donna when a sleeping dart flew through the air and stuck his fat cheek. In no time at all he was fast asleep, leaning against the wall. The motroids stood still, guns aimed at the corner of the corridor. Who was there?

**_Two more chapters...._**

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	21. Chapter 21

**_Second last chapter!_**

**Science Assassin: Chapter twenty-one**

The motroids stood stock still, guns pointed at the corner. Another small dart flew through the air, but the intended motroid dodged, and the dart slammed into the metal wall, falling to the ground.

"Who's there?" asked the Doctor. One of the motroids bent to pick up the major's fallen gun, but Donna kicked it out of the way and it went skidding round the corner. All was silent except for the sound of the person around the corner picking up the gun. Then, from around the corner came...Wanda!

"Wanda?!" asked the Doctor.

"Hello Doctor." Wanda pointed the giant weapon at the motroid army, which was defenceless now, with their tiny pistols looking like ants compared to the massive gun Wanda held. "Where have you been all day?"

"Collecting Donna." The fake doctor grinned. "That fool over there tried to impersonate me."

"No more fooling for you." Wanda pulled out Sir Robert's alien detector. "You're a motroid."

"I, I..." The motroid stared at the machine, shocked. The real Doctor laughed.

"No more pretending. The game is up motroids! I know your plan now."

"You may know our plan, but you don't know where our bomb is," one of the motroids said.

"Does this have anything to do with it?" Wanda held up a detailed map showing the whole of London. A red circle had been drawn over Big Ben. "I found it in the secret passage, in a safe. Picking the lock was easy." The motroids growled.

"You will regret this human!" One of the motroids aimed his pistol at Wanda, who pulled the trigger of the giant gun in panic. At once sonic waves flew out, emitting a super high pitched whine. Everyone clamped their hands to their ears, desperate to get the horrible noise out of their ears. Startled, Wanda dropped the gun. The Doctor picked it up and tried to turn it off. After hitting it a few times on the wall, the waves stopped and the room fell silent.

"Now, hands up." The Doctor aimed the gun at the motroids, who grudgingly lifted their hands.

"You may have caught us Doctor, but you're too late! The bomb is ready to go off at any second. We send the signal, and motroids waiting in the Big Ben will let it off."

"What is this bomb designed of?" asked the Doctor.

"Hew."

"Emits a loud, terrifying explosion with great force but no flames," explained Wanda.

"How did you find this place?" asked the Doctor to Wanda.

"Well, after I persuaded the science committee that you weren't the assassin, we came back to the hotel. Donna was gone from the nursing home, and I immediately smelled a trap. You wouldn't have taken her away so soon. So, I went exploring, and found the kitchen cupboard wide open, with packets strewn all over the floor. It wasn't hard to find the passage after that. As soon as I found that map, Arthur Dales guessed correctly about a bomb, with some help from other documents in the safe. Right now, him and the whole of London's police force are at the Big Ben, ready to arrest any motroids which enter. I got a call from him not long ago. They've found the bomb, disguised as a cog. Right now, Hue Hew is being called to collect the hew. How the motroids got hold of it no one knows."

The motroids were glaring at Wanda, furious. "I thought we arranged for the waiters to fix the cupboard," said the fake doctor.

"I arrived soon after you. There wasn't time for them to clean the cupboard."

"Now, I think you motroids have spent long enough on earth," spoke the Doctor. "You can't go back to Mars, so you'll have to be sent somewhere else. And I think I know just the place...."

**_More to come...._**


	22. Chapter 22

**Disclaimer: I do not own Doctor Who. This story is based on the Doctor Who characters and universe.**

**_Last chapter!!_**

**Science Assassin: Chapter twenty-two**

The day the Doctor first arrived in modern day London was a grey rainy day. The day he left modern day London was also a grey, rainy day. Wanda stood solemnly under her black umbrella, watching the Doctor and Donna enter the TARDIS. Behind her, Arthur Dales, Fred Colle, Mr Prumble, Mr Mckenzie and Hue Hew stood at the hotel doors, also gathered to say goodbye.

The Doctor pulled out his TARDIS key and carefully unlocked the door. His faced displayed no emotion as he turned around.

"Well, good bye all. I'm glad everything turned out right in the end."

"Good bye Doctor." Wanda looked calm as usual. "Hope we meet again one day."

The Doctor gave a cheery wave to the scientists, and then disappeared into the interior of the TARDIS. He waited for Donna to say her goodbyes. She soon entered the glowing control room of the TARDIS, looking slightly sad as she closed the door behind her.

"Well?" the Doctor asked. "How did you like our most recent adventure?"

"Not a bit." Donna frowned. "Meeting myself was the worst part. Especially seeing my own death."

The Doctor also frowned thoughtfully. "Yes. For some reason, you are not meant to remember yourself in the future. Don't ask me why, I have no idea. Remembering caused your death."

A tear dripped down Donna's cheek. "Doctor, how long until I forget? How long until I leave?"

The Doctor was unable to answer that question. They were interrupted by a polite knock on the door. "Come in!" called the Doctor.

Wanda entered, carrying a miniature model of the Hotel Noble. It was carved elegantly from marble. She held it out to Donna. "Here. This is for you. For a souvenir. I almost forgot to give it to you."

Donna took the little model gratefully, examining every detail of the building she was to build in the future. "Well, I hope this will inspire me one day when I decide to build a hotel!" she commented, trying to sound happy. The Doctor grinned. "So, back to business are we?" he asked Wanda.

Wanda didn't reply. She was busy looking in awe at the control room of the TARDIS, with all its glowing lights and buttons. "This is amazing!" she exclaimed. Donna laughed. "Everyone who comes in here says that."

Wanda suddenly remembered where she was, and stood up straight. "Yes," she said, answering the Doctor's question. "Ever since Mr Andrews was discovered motroid in disguise, I was automatically put in charge of the hotel. I'm in charge of running it now."

Donna whooped in delight. "Good! I can't think of a better person to put in charge. I still can't believe that old man was such a sneaky criminal! Letting that motroid you told him to watch go off loose. But then again, he was part of the motroid plan. Are the scientists going to stay for a little longer?"

"No." Wanda shook her head. "Ever since the Doctor sent all the motroids off to that planet, what was it called, Gerbolina?, the scientists no longer need to plan the planet for the motroids. They're heading home today. Hopefully we never need to see those hideous motroid creatures again." She shuddered.

"Brilliant actors, weren't they?" The Doctor remembered how they had been fooled by the motroid sweeper in the clock tower. "Can put on any voice or emotion."

"Yes." Wanda turned to go. "I'm glad they're gone. That was a smart idea of your Doctors, getting a motroid hair and putting it in your alien detector machine, before joining it up to a giant teleportation device of Prumble's. You know, he still has no idea how you got it to work so wonderfully. You've completely stumped him!"

The Doctor smiled. "Well, teleportation had to be invented someday. I'll leave the rest to Prumble. I only adjusted a few things so he could see the connection between air temperature, atoms and air particles as you lower the frequency and introduce a bit of harmless radiation as well as some electronic magnetivity from any convenient source such as..."

"There he goes again." Donna opened the door for Wanda, and the two friends hugged before Wanda stepped out into the heavy rain. "Bye Wanda!" Donna called as the Doctor began setting the TARDIS controls for their next destination, still going on about teleportation fields and atoms. "Take good care of my hotel for me!"

"Bye!" Wanda called. "Write soon!"

Slowly, the TARDIS faded and disappeared into the damp air. Wanda watched it disappear before turning around and slowly heading back into the hotel building, whistling softly to herself, and reflecting on the surprising adventures she had just experienced.

**_And the Doctor Who theme music and credits whirls onto the screen...._**

**_That's all. Finished. Done. Complete. Please review! Please let me know what you think. I want to write another Doctor Who story, eventually. If you got this far, well. done. Thanks for reading and I hope you enjoyed it!_**


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